Appearance
- Atlantic mackerel can grow up to 16 inches long and weigh around 2 pounds. They are metallic blue-green dorsally, and fade to silver along the sides and belly. There are 20-30 wavy black bars running down the sides.
- Atlantic mackerel have a tapered body, and a large head and mouth. They also have two large dorsal fins and a forked caudal fin.
Atlantic mackerel facts
- Species name: Scomber scombrus
- Atlantic mackerel eat copepods, shrimp, krill and squid and other small fishes, and are eaten by large fishes and marine mammals.
- Atlantic mackerel spawn from April to May in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, and from June to July in the Gulf of the St. Lawrence.
- Small females lay around 280,000 eggs and larger females can lay around 2 million eggs, which they release in batches between 5 and 7 times during a spawning season.
- Mackerel can live to be 20 years old.
- They are a schooling fish, who tend to stay above 180 feet.
- Commercially mackerel are caught with mid-water trawls, purse seines and by jigging with rod and reel.
- Atlantic mackerel go after bait that targets other species, and are quick to bite.
- They have a very strong flavor, and off-white, moist, and flaky meat when cooked. They are sometimes smoked or even eaten raw as sashimi.
- Atlantic mackerel are found from the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Strait of Belle Isle, as well as northern Europe.
