Odontesthes regia
The sea pejerrey of Peru and Chile: small, silvery and in schools near piers, rocks and bays. A light, table fishery, with a minimum size and spawning closure in Peru.
Also called: peixe-rei-do-pacífico, pejerrey-peruano, peixe-rei
The peixe-rei-do-pacífico, the pejerrey of Peru and Chile, is a small atherinopsid of the Humboldt Current, from Paita in northern Peru to Aysén in southern Chile. It lives in schools in the coastal strip, in bays, coves and near piers and rocks, and enters estuaries. It is active by day and mainly eats anchoveta eggs and plankton. It rarely exceeds 20 cm. It is caught by artisanal fishers with gillnets and by amateur anglers on piers and rocks, with fine line and several small hooks, and is a popular table fish, fried or in ceviche. It is not the freshwater pejerrey (Odontesthes bonariensis), introduced into lakes in Peru and Chile.
Elongated, slender body, small mouth and large eye, bluish to greenish back and silvery flanks with a broad silver band along the body. Two small, well-separated dorsal fins, long anal fin and forked tail. In saltwater on the Peruvian and Chilean coast, the silverside is this species; the Argentine silverside appears only in lakes and rivers where it was introduced.
Loading the next 7 days…
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Does not occur in Brazil. Southeastern Pacific, from Paita (Peru) to Aysén (Chile).
Habitat: Coastal strip, bays and coves, along piers, jetties and rocks; enters estuaries.
In Peru it is caught all year, but there is a spawning closure in September and October, with dates set each year. In El Niño years the distribution changes.
Daytime. Active by day, in schools near the surface and in midwater; the morning usually produces more at the piers.
Adapted to cold water; El Niño, with warm water, displaces the schools.
Rough sea from a change in weather hurts pier and rock fishing.
Little effect.
It hardly ever rains on the Peruvian coast; on the southern Chilean coast, heavy rain muddies the coastal water.
Not applicable at sea.
Moderate: the school moves away with noise and with shadow on the water.
Strong wind makes it hard to control the fine line.
Moving tide along piers and rocks concentrates food and schools.
0.5 to 5 m, in midwater.
lures
natural baits
accessories
Small bait and small hook: the pejerrey nibbles a lot. A little chum keeps the school close to the pier.
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
Conservation: Old global assessment. We found no specific rule in Chile.
In Peru the minimum catch size for pejerrey is 14 cm total length, with a 10% juvenile tolerance, and gillnets for the species must have a mesh of at least 1 inch. Removing the roe from pejerrey is also prohibited. Below the size, release.
Source: Resolución Ministerial nº 232-2003-PRODUCE, cited in R.M. nº 150-2006-PRODUCE (Peru)
Peru applies a spawning closure to pejerrey in September and October, with start and end dates set by resolution each year based on IMARPE monitoring. Before fishing in those months, check the year's resolution on the Ministry of Production website.
Source: R.M. nº 468-2016-PRODUCE and annual resolutions of the Ministry of Production (Peru)
A delicate fish that loses scales: wet your hand, remove the hook quickly and release without squeezing.
White, fine flesh; fried whole or in ceviche, very popular in Peru.
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00525, b = 2.99; FishBase (estimativa bayesiana com dados da espécie e do gênero, comprimento total); o tamanho máximo publicado (21 cm) é comprimento padrão, sem a cauda, e o peso máximo foi calculado por esta relação). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
—
The season weights (months), the time of day and the sensitivities (cold, pressure, moon, wind, rain, tide, strong light, murky water and noise) are the app's editorial estimates, based on the literature below and on the field experience of anglers and guides. They are not official data nor a measurement made for this species, and they may vary by region and year. Closed seasons and legal rules appear in the rules section, with the norm and a link.
Your location is saved only on this device and feeds the forecast, the map and the "today" on the home page.
