Mackerel is a commercial fish valued for its fatty meat with a delicate aroma and rich taste. Its high content of vitamin D and omega fatty acids is beneficial for human health. In nature, mackerel lives where there is warm water and a lot of plankton, and is considered a record holder for speed - it accelerates to 80 kilometers per hour in two seconds. This sea fish was caught by the ancient Romans to prepare garum sauce.
Description of the fish
A representative of the Ray-finned class and the Mackerel family, it is found in pelagic waters - in the middle layer between the bottom and the surface, the most extensive habitat for aquatic organisms.A characteristic feature of pelagic fish is their spindle-shaped body, which allows them to cut through a dense layer of water. This explains the mackerel's speed talent.
Other distinctive features of the fish:
Name | Description |
Length | 30 centimeters |
Color | Steel blue, with dark transverse lines on the back and a clean yellowish belly. |
Eyes | Surrounded by bone rings |
Fins | Two large dorsal ones, the front one is larger than the back one. Several small ones in the caudal part of the back, a forked tail, short anal and anterior ones. |
Scales | Small |
Muzzle | Pointed |
Teeth | Small, cone-shaped, vomeric and palatine. |
Some species of mackerel lack a swim bladder. The fish weighs 300-400 grams. The weight of large specimens exceeds 1.5 kilograms.
Where is it found?
Mackerel is an exclusively marine migratory fish. The favorable water temperature for its life activity is +10-20 degrees. When the temperature drops below ten degrees, the fish’s metabolism slows down, and when the water cools to two degrees, it dies. When the environment changes unfavorably, schools of mackerel migrate.
Heat-loving fish are absent off the northern Russian coast and in the polar seas. For domestic fishing it is available only in the Black Sea. In particularly warm years, the northern population enters the Barents Sea and the Gulf of Finland.
One of the main places for commercial fishing of mackerel is the Baltic Sea. There are three directions in the Atlantic Ocean:
- northern - in the Gulf Stream, the Norwegian Sea;
- western - off the islands of Great Britain and the coast of Iceland;
- southern - from the British Isles to the western coast of Africa.
In the Pacific Ocean, schools of fish are distributed from the coasts of Asia to Australia and New Zealand. It is mined in the Sea of Japan and off the Kuril Islands.Large king mackerel are caught in the Gulf of Mexico.
Diet
Mackerel is an omnivorous fish. The structure of the teeth allows it to filter water and extract plankton, and during the feeding season, hunt for fry. Mackerel, like river fish, eats algae, but the basis of its diet is meat. In whole flocks it hunts sprat, anchovies, gerbils and anchovy. Sometimes mackerel eats its own fry.
Fish search for food during daylight hours and during twilight hours. Her menu includes:
- zooplankton;
- squid;
- small fish;
- crabs;
- scallops;
- polychaete worms
The voracious mackerel rushes into the depths of the food chain. Hunting for small things, she herself becomes prey for pelicans and larger predators - tuna, dolphins, sharks. The diet of mackerel varies with the seasons. On fishing hooks it is attracted to maggots and worms, and sometimes bait is not even needed.
Fish are prone to cannibalism. During the period of active growth, stronger fry eat the weaker ones. Large adult individuals living in Japanese waters also encroach on the lives of smaller flock neighbors.
Reproduction and spawning
Mackerel gather in schools based on size and age. During movement, fish are guided by the striped backs of their neighbors and thus determine speed and direction. Their life expectancy is 18-20 years. Off the coast of Australia there are centenarians aged 24-30 years.
Sexual maturity occurs at the age of 2-3 years, in the Japanese variety already at 1 year. Juveniles spawn later than adults - at the beginning of the summer season. Spawning usually begins in mid-spring.
Spawning takes place at a depth of 200 meters in coastal waters. One female lays 500 thousand eggs, dividing them into several portions.Favorable temperature for larval maturation is +13 degrees. If the water is warmer, the eggs mature faster. In cold waters, caviar does not mature, which also explains the rare presence of fish in northern Russia.
The average hatching time for offspring is 16-21 days. The size of newborn mackerels is 2-3 millimeters. The larvae feed on the fat that remains in the opened eggs, and by the end of summer they develop into fry 3-6 centimeters long. By mid-autumn, small mackerels grow up to 18 centimeters.
The young quickly grow up to 30 centimeters. Mature fish grow throughout their lives, but much more slowly.
Types of fish
Sometimes mackerel is classified as a species of mackerel. This is also a predatory sea fish, but it is larger, has markings on its abdomen and is less valuable in terms of nutritional quality. The reason for generalizing two different fish is due to difficulties in translation.
The English name for mackerel is "mackerel". English-speaking Europeans use the same word for tuna, which according to the classification is classified as a separate rank. Mackerel is not harvested on such a large scale and is rarely sold. Sometimes it is offered to customers under the guise and price of mackerel.
Japanese
The variety differs in body shape and color. The head of the Japanese mackerel has an almost regular cone-shaped profile and smoothly merges into the back and abdomen. The body of the fish shines with a metallic gray. The blue-green stripes on the back stand out less brightly.The structural features also include the presence of a swim bladder and two rows of palatal teeth.
Advantages of the type:
- large sizes - reaches 64 centimeters in length;
- in Japan it is specially grown for commercial purposes.
The fish feeds on cephalopods, crustaceans, sea worms, and often other mackerel. Disadvantages of the type:
- does not tolerate cold well, favorable habitat temperature is +10-27 degrees;
- the fishing area is limited.
The Japanese species lives and spawns in the Kuril Islands area, in the northeast of the East China Sea. In summer, flocks migrate to the Gulf of California and the Gulf of Guinea, as well as to the waters of South Africa, the Azores and the Arabian Sea. Commercial fishing for Japanese mackerel is concentrated in the Pacific Northwest.
Atlantic
This type of mackerel is also called Norwegian or Scottish. The maximum length of the fish is 63 centimeters, and its weight is 1.7 kilograms. Atlantic mackerel does not have a swim bladder. Representatives of the species move in schools at speeds of up to 30 kilometers per hour and winter on the slopes of continental shelves at a depth of 250 meters.
Positive features of the species:
- does not mix with other fish, rarely merges with schools of herring;
- The approach of a flock can be easily determined by the darkening of the water and the characteristic noise that gulls and pelicans flock to.
The Atlantic species is a fish that lives in the Black Sea. Mackerel gets caught along the east coast of the Atlantic Ocean, starting from Iceland and ending with the Canary Islands.
Disadvantages of the type:
- average fecundity not exceeding 500 thousand eggs per female;
- mistakenly identified with mackerel.
In summer, flocks swim into the White and Barents Seas.Atlantic mackerel is most common off the southwestern coast of Ireland, the English Channel and the Skagerrak. Fish spawning areas are the Sea of Marmara, waters near Romania and Bulgaria.
African
For some time, this type of mackerel was combined into one with Japanese. The African variety has a greenish mottled color, a dark green back and a light yellow belly. The structure of the fish is distinguished by the presence of a swim bladder, a large number of spines in the first dorsal fin and one row of palatal teeth.
Advantages of the type:
- high fertility, 2.6 million eggs per female;
- maximum habitat depth is 300 meters.
African mackerel spawn at night in late spring and early summer. The eggs float in the water column.
Disadvantages of the type:
- gathers in one flock with other relatives. It is caught along with sardines;
- migrates within limited limits.
Young animals prefer tropical climates, while mature individuals prefer subtropics. The species is most often found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean, from the Bay of Biscay to the Azores and Canary Islands. It is also found in the Black Sea.
The largest concentration of the African species is observed in the southern Mediterranean Sea.
Australian
The fourth variety was also considered Japanese. Australian mackerel has distinctive features in structure and color. It has a separate spine in front of the anal fin, and its dark greenish-blue back is covered with wavy stripes.
Positive qualities of the species:
- the taste is not inferior to the Atlantic;
- more often found in coastal waters than relatives of other species.
In the 90s, the world catch of Australian mackerel reached 16 thousand tons. In Japan it is valued less than the Japanese species.
Disadvantages of the type:
- life expectancy is short - 8 years;
- low fertility - 250-500 thousand eggs in one clutch.
The fish is rarely found in the tropics. In warm waters, its life expectancy and fertility increase.
The Australian mackerel's habitat covers the western Pacific Ocean: waters from China and Japan to Australia and the islands of New Zealand. To the east, populations reach the Hawaiian Islands. This species is also found in the northern Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.