Mackerel

Fact File: Common Name(s): Mackerel or Atlantic Mackerel Scientific Name: Scomber scombrus (Linnaeus, 1758) Usual Size: To 50cm although common to 30cm UK Record Weights from rod/line: Shore:5lb 11oz 14dr Boat:6lb 2oz 7dr MAFF Minimum Size: Shore:30cms Boat:30cms

Identification: Mackerel (Torpedo) Shaped. The back markings are black oblique to near vertical lines, with hardly any undulating and the belly area is unmarked. No swim bladder. 11/13 dorsal spines. Breeding: Egg dispersal. In the Eastern Atlantic spawning takes place from May to June off the Southern English coasts. The females are mature at 2/3 years old which equates to a size of approximately 34cm. Between 200/450,000 eggs are laid in each spawning season. Habitat: Most abundant in cold and temperate shelf waters. Over winter in deep waters and then migrate shoreward in the spring when the water temperatures reach between 11/14ºC. It would appear that our Eastern Atlantic population has no inter-mix with the Western Atlantic populations. Food: Cannibalistic, and small fry of numerous species Range: For the Eastern Atlantic from Iceland south to the north coast of Africa. Additional Notes: REFERENCES: FAO Species Catalogue 2 - Scombrids of The World - Collette/Nauen Fishes of the North-Eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean - Whitehead, Bauchot, Hureau, Nielsen, Tortonese Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe - Wheeler

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