Description

It has a long body and a double dorsal fin. Its average size ranges from 45 to 55 cm. and it weights around 1 or 2 Kg. It is a commercialized species.

Economic importance and regulation mechanisms.

It is the second coastal species most unloaded by the fleet operating in the Río de la Plata and in the Argentine – Uruguayan Common Fishing Zone [Zona Común de Pesca Argentino-Uruguaya]. During the last 15 years, the average total capture per year has been of approximately 10,000 metric Tons.

Feeding

Its feeding habits include catching self moving organisms and its diet consist of crustaceans (shrimps and amphipods), bony fish such as the Argentinean anchovy and molluscs (squids and longfin inshore squids). Cannibalism does also exist in this species. The proportion of the items differ according to the size of the animal and the time of the year.