Atlantic Mahi Mahi

U.S. wild-caught mahi mahi is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

• Brightly colored back is an electric greenish blue, lower body is gold or sparkling silver, and sides have a mixture of dark and light spots.
• Bright pattern fades almost immediately after mahi mahi is harvested.
• Adult males have a square head.
• Females have a rounded head.
• Distinguished from the pompano dolphin by its 55 to 66 dorsal fin rays and a very wide, square tooth patch on the tongue.

• Atlantic mahi mahi grow up to almost 7 feet and 88 pounds.
• They live up to 5 years.
• They are capable of reproducing at 4 to 5 months old.
• Believed to spawn every 2 to 3 days during the spawning season, releasing between 33,000 and 66,000 eggs each time.
• In the Atlantic, spawn under patches of floating brown algae called Sargassum.
• Mahi mahi are top predators that feed in surface water during the day.
• They eat a wide variety of species, including small pelagic fish, juvenile tuna, invertebrates, billfish, jacks, pompano, and pelagic larvae of nearshore, bottom-living species.
• Predators include large tuna, marine mammals, marlin, sailfish, and swordfish.
• NOAA Fisheries

• Mahi mahi are found in the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean, and are caught from Massachusetts to Texas.
• About one-third of U.S. commercial harvest of mahi mahi comes from the Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. The rest comes from the Pacific, mainly Hawaii.

• NOAA Fisheries and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (in cooperation with the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils) manage the Atlantic stock of Mahi mahi.
• Managed under the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic:
  • Permits are required to sell mahi mahi.
  • Minimum size limit for mahi mahi caught off the coasts of Georgia, Florida, and South Carolina to protect smaller fish.