ABSTRACT
The opah, Lampris guttatus, is a deep-bodied, oval, brightly colored lampridiform fish that attains a large size (up to 600 lbs or 275 kg). As a marketable by-catch of tuna and swordfish long-line fisheries, the opah brings high prices because of its excellent tasting pink flesh. Its color in life is iridescent blue or green with silvery white spots covering the body and fin bases. Its lower sides and belly are rosy red and the fins are bright scarlet. The dorsal-and anal-fin bases are long. The anterior dorsal rays are elongate and form a high arching lobe. The caudal fin is symmetrical and moderately forked. The pectoral fin is large, sickle shaped and placed high on the sides. The pelvic fin is large with long arching rays. The opah uses its pectoral fins for burst swimming, employing large muscles attached to its shoulder girdle for thrust (Rosenblatt and Johnson 1976). L. guttatus is widely distributed throughout tropical and temperate seas and has been reported from Greenland, Iceland and the North Sea during summer months. It is a solitary, wandering predator and powerful swimmer, consuming mollusks, crustaceans and small fish, sometimes in large quantities (Olney 2003). A second species, L. immaculata, is widely distributed in cold and temperate waters of the southern hemisphere and does not occur in the North Atlantic (Parin & Kukuyev 1983, Collette 2003). The name Lampridae has been used for this family but the correct spelling is Lamprididae following the nomenclatorial review of Colin Patterson (Appendix 1 in Olney et al. 1993).
