The tarpon was one of the first saltwater species to be declared a game fish.

Tarpon grow slowly and usually don't reach maturity until they are six or seven years old and about 4 feet (1.2 m) long.

Females may shed up to 12 million eggs, which hatch at sea. The eggs turn into eel-like larvae that drift inshore, where they shrink to half their size and start to look like tarpon before beginning to grow again.

Tarpon flesh is edible, though usually eaten only in developing countries, where the scales are used to make souvenirs for tourists.

The most sought-after inshore, big-game fish, the tarpon puts up a stubborn and spectacular fight, often leaping up to 10 feet out of the water. It's difficult to hook because of its hard, bony mouth. Anglers still fish with live mullet, pinfish, crabs and shrimp, or cast or troll with spoons, plugs and other artificial lures. Best fishing is at night, when tarpon feed.

The tarpon is found in warm-temperate, tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean, both inshore and offshore, and has introduced itself to the Pacific side of the Panama Canal. Because of its ability to gulp air directly into its air bladder by "rolling" at the surface, the tarpon is able to enter brackish and fresh waters that are stagnant and virtually without oxygen. Such areas are relatively free of predators, offering a safe refuge for the young.

Camurupi
Brazil [Portuguese]

Ofin
Benin [Fon]

Peixe-prata- do-atlântico
Portugal [Portuguese]

Pez lagarto
Spain [Spanish]

Tapam
Nicaragua [Miskito]

Tarpoen
Netherlands [Dutch]

Tarpon argenté
France [French]

Tarponi
Finland [Finnish]