This pelagic and oceanodromous species occurs in open waters, but always remains close to the shoreline. It is found to 50 m depth. The young may enter bays and harbours. It forms multi-species schools by size with other scombrid species, comprised of 100 to over 5,000 individuals. It is a highly opportunistic predator that feeds indiscriminately on small fishes, especially clupeoids and atherinids (Griffiths et al. 2009). Its maximum fork length is 100 cm. This species spawns extensively, both geographically and temporally, throughout its range (Schaefer 2001). Size at first maturity off Pakistan was 37.7 cm and longevity was about 9 years (Ahmed et al. 2015). A study conducted in Taiwan reported the age at first maturity to be 2 years (Chiou et al. 2004). Longevity has been estimated at 6 years (Landau 1965). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 6 years, its estimated generation length is 4 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This pelagic species occurs in coastal and oceanic waters to 300 m depth (May and Maxwell 1986, Collette 1995). It forms schools by size, and schools may include Jack Mackerels and Pacific Sardines. It is a plankton feeder, filtering copepods and other crustaceans, but adults also feed on small fishes and squids. The maximum fork length is 40 cm. In Australia, age at first maturity is 2 years and longevity is 8 years (Stevens et al. 1984). However, this species is larger and longer lived in New Zealand, where longevity has been estimated to be as high as 24 years (Morrison et al. 2001) and length at first maturity is 28 cm and approximately 3 years (Manning et al. 2007). In Japan, the age at first maturity is 1 year and longevity is approximately 6 years (Uozumi pers. comm. 2009). Generation length in Japan, is therefore estimated to be 2-“3 years, but may be higher in Australia and New Zealand.

This common, coastal pelagic species forms large schools in bays, harbors and deep lagoons, usually in some turbid plankton-rich waters. It feeds on phytoplankton (diatoms) and small zooplankton (cladocerans, ostracods, larval polychaetes, etc.). There are many reports on life history and other information for this species compared to other Rastrelliger species (Noble and Geetha 1992). Size at first maturity is approximately 17-“20 cm (Tampubolon and Merta 1987, Sivadas et al. 2006), and longevity is estimated to be approximately four years (Mehanna 2001). This is a fast-growing species, and age at first maturity is expected to occur during the first year (Jayabalan et al. 2016). When applying an age at first reproduction of 1 years and longevity of 4 years, its estimated generation length is 2.5 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This pelagic and oceanodromous species occurs from near the edge of the continental shelf to shallow coastal waters, often of low salinity and high turbidity. Juveniles inhabit estuaries and nearshore habitats. It is also found in drop-offs, and shallow or gently sloping reef and lagoon waters, and is more frequently caught in waters shallower than 100 m depth (Collette 2001). It undertakes lengthy long-shore migrations, but permanent resident populations also seem to exist. It occurs in small schools and primarily consumes small fishes like anchovies, clupeids and carangids, but also squid and penaeid shrimps. It spawns off reef slopes and edges, and forms spawning aggregations in specific areas. Depending on temperature regime, the spawning season may be more or less extended. Off Iran, spawning occurs mostly from June to September (Darvishi et al. 2011) and in May and June off Oman (Claereboudt et al. 2005). It possibly migrates from Omani waters to the Iranian coast in the Gulf during spawning season (Claereboudt et al. 2005, Darvishi et al. 2011). It has an age at first maturity of about 2 years (Devaraj 1981, Mackie et al. 2003, Claereboudt et al. 2005, Grandcourt et al. 2005). In north Queensland, Australia the oldest male was 10 years at 127 cm and the oldest female was 14 years and 155 cm. This species may live up to 15 years (IOTC 2006), 16 years (Grandcourt et al. 2005), and maybe as long as 22 years (Mackie et al. 2003). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 16 years, its estimated generation length is 9 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This coastal, pelagic species schools with small tunas to 30 m depth. It is also found around some islands (Collette 1995). It feeds on clupeoids, other fishes, squids, and decapod crustaceans. It occurs at temperatures of 13.5-“23'°C. Fork length at first maturity is about 54 cm (Silas 1964). Maximum fork length is 102 cm.

This is a pelagic migratory fish inhabiting coastal waters to 200 m depth. It sometimes enters turbid estuarine waters, and is usually found in small schools. It feeds mainly on small schooling fishes (especially sardines and anchovies), squids and crustaceans. Adults can reach a maximum fork length of 76 cm. Maturity occurs at around 48-“52 cm total length or 1-“2 years in southern India, and about 40 cm in Thailand (Krishnarnoorthy 1958). This species may live to 16 years of age (Devaraj 1977). When applying an age at first reproduction of 2 years and longevity of 16 years, its estimated generation length is 9 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This pelagic and oceanodromous species is found in offshore waters to depths of 260 m. It exhibits a strong tendency to school in surface waters with birds, drifting objects, sharks, and whales. It feeds on fish, crustaceans, cephalopods, and molluscs and is preyed upon by large pelagic fishes (Kailola et al. 1993). In the western Atlantic, it is commonly found in mixed schools with Blackfin Tuna, Thunnus atlanticus.This species is very fast-growing, short-lived, and very fecund. Its maximum fork length is 111 cm (Bayliff 1988) and longevity is estimated to be between 6-“8 years (Garcia-Coll et al. 1985, Collette 2010). The age of first maturity is estimated to be 1.5 years (Maunder and Harley 2005) with a fork length at first maturity of 40-“55 cm, depending on the area (Collette and Nauen 1983, Matsumoto et al. 1984, Cayre and Farrugio 1986, Wild and Hampton 1994, Stequert and Ramcharrun 1996, Schaefer 2001). This species spawns several times per season in batches (Erdman 1977, Collette 2010). When applying an age at first reproduction of 1.5 years and longevity of 7 years, its estimated generation length is 4.25 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This is an estuarine-dependent species found mainly on sandy and muddy grounds in shallow coastal waters to 50 m depth (Fischer and Bianchi 1984, Garratt 1993). Juveniles inhabit protected bays and estuaries (Carpenter 2001). This species enters freshwaters in Zimbabwe, South Africa and Madagascar. It feeds on worms, molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms and small fish (Fischer et al. 1990). The maximum length is 90 cm (Smith and Smith 1986). This species is a protandrous hermaphrodite (Allsop and West 2003).

This species is associated with reefs in shallow coastal waters and also occurs in estuaries and bays (Sommer et al. 1996, Y. Iwatsuki pers. comm. 2009). Prey items consist mainly of molluscs and other benthic invertebrates (Masuda and Allen 1993). It occurs in small schools (Lieske and Myers 1994) and can attain 50 cm total length (Sommer et al. 1996). It is suspected to be protogynous and spawning in the southern Arabian Gulf occurs from January to April. Spawning aggregations have been observed off Oman (Y. Iwatsuki pers. comm. 2009). Sexual maturity is attained at 26.4 cm fork length or 4.6 years for females and 21.9 cm or 2.4 years for males (Grandcourt et al. 2004). It has been recorded to a maximum age of 19-21 years (Samuel and Mathews 1987, Grandcourt et al. 2004). When applying an age at first reproduction of 4.5 years and longevity of 20 years, its estimated generation length is 12.25 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.

This species inhabits a wide range of bottoms to 150 m depth, usually 5-100 m (Smith and Smith 1986, Sommer et al. 1996). Young fish occur in very shallow waters of sheltered bays (Sommer et al. 1996) and larger individuals occur in deeper water. It occurs in estuaries along the Iranian Sea of Oman coast (Kamrani et al. 2016). It feeds on benthic invertebrates, mainly mollusks (Fischer et al. 1990, Salini et al. 1994). The spawning season in the Arabian Sea occurs from September to January, with a peak around October-November. In the southern Arabian Gulf, spawning occurs from January to April (Grandcourt et al. 2004). In Qatari waters, spawning occurs from November to March, with a peak in December (Abdallah et al. 2012). There is some evidence of large aggregations forming during autumn in the Gulf of Aden (Mann and Fennessy 2000). Its maximum total length is 75 cm (S. Alam pers. comm. 2013). The fork length at first maturity in Oman is 28.6 and 26.4 cm for females and males, respectively (McIlwain et al. 2006). Age and length at first maturity off Abu Dhabi is estimated as 26.9 cm and 2.4 years for males and 26.7 cm and 2.4 years for females (Grandcourt et al. 2004). In the Arabian Sea off Oman, longevity was estimated as 25 years and size and age at maturity as 36.5 cm and 5 years for males and 37.2 cm and 5.6 years for females (Al Mamry et al. 2009). In Iran, the maximum recorded ages for females and males was 21 and 25 years, respectively (Ghanbarzadeh et al. 2017). When applying an age at first reproduction of 3 years and longevity of 25 years, its estimated generation length is 14 years based on the following equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: Age at first reproduction + (Age at last reproduction -“ age at first reproduction)/2.