First occurrence of a lesser amberjack Seriola fasciata (Bloch, 1793) in the Aegean coasts of Turkey with morphological and molecular identification

Abstract

The lesser amberjack Seriola fasciata (Bloch, 1793), is an Atlantic species that expanded its distribution range throughout the Mediterranean (from the Balearic Islands to Haifa Bay). On October 7th 2018, one individual of S. fasciata was caught by a recreational fisher from Didim Akbük (37∘23′N, 27∘25′E) at a depth of approximately 30 m. The specimen was identified using morphological and molecular methods. This species is observed for the first time from the Turkish Aegean coasts, and it is expanding its distributional range northwards in the Aegean Sea. The current status and historical distribution of S. fasciata in the Mediterranean basin is also presented.