Open Blue Cobia
Comments on Cobia
by Brian O’Hanlon
For over six years I have had the opportunity to dive with these fish on almost a daily basis, often multiple times a day. Without bragging, I may have been in the water with more Cobia more frequently than anyone on the planet. I feel that I have really gotten to know the fish. Just by looking at them, I can tell you if they are comfortable, excited or stressed. Overall, Cobia is a very fascinating species of fish and I really enjoy working with them.
Cobia stopped evolving a long time ago. Some argue it stopped evolving back with the dinosaurs. It is a very primitive species and that is part of what makes it so ideal for free-range fish farming. Cobia resemble Remora or Shark Suckers in the wild. Perhaps the Cobia or Remora evolved to resemble the other, as both specie tend to follow large sharks, rays and whales in the open seas. In most photos of large migrating animals in tropical or sub-tropical waters you will see Cobia swimming along side.
Cobia often resemble small sharks. Spanish speaking fishermen in the Caribbean refer to them as “Carrita de Tiborone” which translates as “Little Shark Face”. The way a Cobia swims through the water, the silhouette with light behind it and the inquisitive nature of the fish further confuses people into thinking it is a shark. I recall a dive in Puerto Rico when a Cobia that had to be 75-100 lbs and 4-5 feet in length swam up behind me and passed just inches over my head. It startled me at first because I thought it was a shark and I was thinking it was a little too close for comfort, but when I realized it was a Cobia, I was amazed.
On the farm, the fish are just as curious. When I jump into a net pen with them, they all swarm around and take turns swimming up to my face and staring me in the eye. They are waving around their pectoral fins, like Nemo, to maintain their position in the water column and literally look at you face to face. Sometimes they will bite my fingers or ears to say, hey, I’m hungry.
This inquisitive nature and the fact that they will come close to humans and boats make them easy targets for spear fisherman and sport fisherman. They are also prized targets by these fisherman because of its mild white meat. These recreational fishermen often sell their catch to local restaurants, predominantly in Florida and States bordering the Gulf of Mexico. The recreational fisherman land more cobia in the US than commercial fisherman. And both are quite low.
Cobia are very solitary fish in the wild. They don’t travel in large schools unless they are congregating to spawn. No targeted commercial fishery has ever developed for this species. Cobia is often a prized bycatch for long liners and other fishing fleets. This also represents a great opportunity for the farming of Cobia as there will be no competition from wild sources of this species in the market.
Cobia are unique in the fact that they lack a swim bladder. Perhaps this is another characteristic that makes them similar to sharks. Most fish specie have a small bladder of air internally that they can regulate to maintain neutral buoyancy. Without a swim bladder, Cobia are negatively buoyant, so if they stop swimming, they sink. In order to compensate for this, Cobia store more fat and oils in their flesh. This is one of the reasons this species is so amazing for the culinary world. It is also the reason our Cobia has one of the highest levels heart healthy omega-3’s and has such an incredible shelf life.
It’s unfortunate that compassion rarely extends to fish. Nonetheless there may be a gradual change of attitude on this matter; signs have already emerged to include fish in campaigns for "animal rights." At Open Blue, we raise our Cobia in a natural environment, in low densities and swim with and observe these wonderful animals and treat them with respect as key members of Mother Nature’s all important nutrition ecosystem.
- Brian
