Mackerel (redirected from Makerel)

mackerel, common name for members of the family Scombridae, 60 species of open-sea fishes, including the albacore, bonito, and tuna. They are characterized by deeply forked tails that narrow greatly where they join the body; small finlets behind both the dorsal and the anal fins; and sleek, streamlined bodies with smooth, almost scaleless skins having an iridescent sheen. All members of the mackerel family are superb, swift swimmers. The firm, oily texture of their powerful muscles and their generally large size make them of great commercial importance as food fish. They travel in schools, feeding on other fish (chiefly herring) and on squid, and migrate between deep and shallow waters. The smaller species rely on the constant rush of water through their gills for sufficient oxygen and will suffocate if motionless. The largest of the family, the enormous (up to 3-4 ton/680 kg) tunas, are among the few warm-blooded fishes, due to the constant operation of their huge banks of muscles. Of the smaller members of the family, the Atlantic, or common, mackerel, Scomber scombrus, found in colder waters off North America and Europe, is one of the smallest (1 1-2 lb/0.675 kg average). Despite its size, the annual catch is 50 million lb (22.5 million kg), which is marketed fresh, salted, and canned. Intermediate between the Atlantic mackerel and the bonitos (see tuna) are the frigate mackerels, found in warm seas. Spotted species found off the Florida and Gulf coasts include the Spanish, painted, and Sierra mackerels, averaging 10 to 15 lb (4.5–6.7 kg). Other species are the king mackerel, also called kingfish and cero (up to 60 lb/27 kg); the chub mackerel, similar to the Atlantic mackerel; and the cosmopolitan and more solitary wahoo, or peto. Related to the mackerels are the escolars and rabbit fishes of Mediterranean and Cuban waters and the cutlass, or scabbard, fish, a degenerate eellike offshoot of the mackerels, found off the coast of Florida. Mackerels are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Osteichthyes, order Perciformes, family Scombridae.

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mackerel

Swift-moving, carnivorous, torpedo-shaped food and sport fishes (family Scombridae, order Perciformes) of temperate and tropical seas worldwide. Mackerels are 1–5.5 ft (30–170 cm) long. The common mackerel (Scomber scombrus) of the North Atlantic Ocean and the chub mackerel (S. colias) of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans are economically important, as are the Indian mackerels (genus Rastrelliger) and the frigate mackerels (genus Auxis). Other species (genus Scomberomorus) are favourite game fish. The name mackerel also refers to certain shark species (see mackerel shark), tuna, and bonito.

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mackerel

1. a spiny-finned food fish, Scomber scombrus, occurring in northern coastal regions of the Atlantic and in the Mediterranean: family Scombridae. It has a deeply forked tail and a greenish-blue body marked with wavy dark bands on the back

2. any of various other fishes of the family Scombridae, such as Scomber colias (Spanish mackerel) and S. japonicus (Pacific mackerel)

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mackerel [′mak·rəl]

(vertebrate zoology)

The common name for perciform fishes composing the subfamily Scombroidei of the family Scombridae, characterized by a long slender body, pointed head, and large mouth.

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Mackerel 

(Scomber scombrus), also Atlantic mackerel, a fish of the family Scombridae of the order Perciformes. The body, which is spindle-shaped and covered with small scales, is about 60 cm long and weighs about 1.6 kg. The color above is bluish green with several black curved stripes.

The mackerel is found along the European coast from the Barents and White seas to the Canary Islands. It is also present in the Baltic (up to the Gulf of Finland), North, Mediterranean, and Black seas, as well as in the Sea of Marmara. Along the eastern coast of North America the fish is found from Labrador to the Carolinas. A thermophile pelagic schooling fish, the mackerel winters at depths of 150–250 m. In the spring it migrates to the coasts for reproduction. After spawning, which occurs in the summer at shallow depths, the fish migrates along the coast in search of food. Sexual maturity is reached in the second to fourth year. Fecundity is about 500,000 roe. The mackerel is a commercially valuable fish.

Related species are the chub mackerel (S. japonicus) and the slimy mackerel (S. australasicus). The chub mackerel is commonly found off the western and eastern coasts of the Pacific (including the Sea of Japan), off southern Africa, and off the western and eastern coasts of the Atlantic (including the Mediterranean and Black seas). The slimy mackerel occurs off South Australia and New Zealand.