MACKEREL or ATLANTIC MACKEREL
Scomber scombrus
included because we catch them by the bucket load from the boat between dives

Usual Size: 30cm is common but can reach 50cm. MAFF Minimum Size: Shore:30cms Boat:30cms

Mackerel (belonging to family Scombridae) are found off all British coasts. The family Scombridae is a large family of marine fishes, containing fish such as the Tuna. Members of this family are well streamlined for efficient and fast movement through the water. Mackerel are predetary fish, primarily feeding on crustaceans, fish eggs, small fish and even other mackerel fry.

There are a number of different types of Mackerel found on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, but only those found in and around the UK are described here.

Common Mackerel (Scomber Scombrus)
An important commercial species fished by drift nets as food fish or for industrial use, but popularly fished from boats for sport. They grow on average to about 12" long (30cm) and are coloured blue/green above the lateral midline and ilver below. The also have wavy black vertical lines covering their backs. The common mackerel has two well separated dorsal fins with 5 dorsal and anal finlets. Two keel like fins are also present on the undeside of the fish.

Mackerel winter in deep water (approximately 300m) but return to the shallows around the coast in May-June to spawn. The fish will then spawn, the resulting eggs released into the sea in great numbers, up to 90,000 per spawning. The eggs are between 1 and 1.4mm in size planktonic. They consist of an unsegmented yolk surrounded by a greeny-black pigmented oil globule. Hatching occurs after 2-6 days. The juvenile fish stay offshore for about 2 years until they are sexually mature. At this time they join the great shoals of mackerel that form at spawning time. The shoals of mackerel that form at this time consist of hundreds of fish. Larger shoals have been estimated in the thousands. The shoals are constantly on the move, as the mackerel must keep moving. The common mackerel has no swimbladder and uses a passive gill ventilation form of breathing. The fish swim mouth open and the gill chambers expanded, thus water flows through the gills. (Ramjet effect) This saves engery which is used by other fish to pump water through the gills when the mouth closes. Therefore it must move to live, if the fish is not swimming it will drown. The fish also are on the move after it's prey, they feed in the summer where there will be currents, thus around headlands, breakwaters, piers and beaches that experience a strong tidal flow.

If common mackerel are not caught then they can live to about 20 years, when they can be 2kg or more in weight.

Chub or Spanish Mackerel (Scomber Japonicus)
This mackerel is similar to the common mackerel but with two differences. The first is that addition of a swimbladder which enables the fish to hold position off the bottom of the sea with no mechanical energy. The second difference is in the markings. The chub mackerel has dark lines or spots below the laterel midline, with some having darker lines along the lower flank. The Chub or Spanish Mackerel are found around from the south west/west of England and Ireland to the Mediteranean Sea and the shores of North Africa. The Common Mackerel are also found in these areas, but their range extends to the North Sea and up to the northern shores of Norway. The common Mackerel is also found in the Baltic Sea.

 

Mackerel recipes

Marinated mackerel	Orange mackerel