The Atlantic Spanish mackerel (''Scomberomorus maculatus'') is a migratory species of

mackerel Mackerel is a common name applied to a number of different species of pelagic fish, mostly from the family Scombridae. They are found in both temperate and tropical seas, mostly living along the coast or offshore in the oceanic environment. ...

that swims to the northern

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico () is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southw ...

in spring, returns to southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

in the eastern Gulf, and to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in the western Gulf in the fall.

Description

The fish exhibits a green back; its sides are silvery marked with about three rows of round to elliptical yellow spots. The

lateral line The lateral line, also called the lateral line organ (LLO), is a system of sensory organs found in fish, used to detect movement, vibration, and pressure gradients in the surrounding water. The sensory ability is achieved via modified epithelia ...

gradually curves down from the upper end of the gill cover toward caudal peduncle. The first (spiny) dorsal fin is black at the front. Posterior membranes are white with a black edge. Its single row of cutting-edged teeth in each jaw (around 64 teeth in all) are large, uniform, closely spaced, and flattened from side to side. As with the king mackerel and the cero mackerel, these teeth look very similar to those of the bluefish, ''Pomatomus saltatrix''. Spanish mackerel can grow (rarely) to and weigh up to .

Distribution/habitat

Spanish mackerel occur seasonally from the

Yucatán Peninsula The Yucatán Peninsula ( , ; ) is a large peninsula in southeast Mexico and adjacent portions of Belize and Guatemala. The peninsula extends towards the northeast, separating the Gulf of Mexico to the north and west of the peninsula from the C ...

, Mexico, as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. They are a shallow-water species, preferring sand bottom at depths of , occasionally found as deep as .

Migration patterns

One Atlantic and one or more Gulf groups of Spanish mackerel apparently occur in Florida waters. With rising water temperatures, the Atlantic group migrates along the Atlantic Coast of the United States from

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, beginning in late February through July, reaching as far as southern Cape Cod, Massachusetts, then returning in the fall. An eastern Gulf group moves northward from the

Florida Keys The Florida Keys are a coral island, coral cay archipelago off the southern coast of Florida, forming the southernmost part of the continental United States. They begin at the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami a ...

during late winter and spring, appearing off the central West Coast of Florida about April 1. Movement continues westward and terminates along the northern Texas Gulf Coast. During fall, this group migrates back to its wintering grounds in the Florida Keys.

Life history

The Gulf group of Spanish mackerel spawn in batches from May to September from off the shore of Texas to off the shore of Florida as early as April in some years. The Atlantic group spawns starting in April off the

Carolinas The Carolinas, also known simply as Carolina, are the U.S. states of North Carolina and South Carolina considered collectively. They are bordered by Virginia to the north, Tennessee to the west, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the southwes ...

and from late August to late September in the northernmost part of its range. Spanish mackerel mature by 1 year at a fork length of . Females live longer and grow to larger sizes than males. Females may live as long as 11 years, growing to and fork length. Males reach about 6 years old and in fork length.

Feeding habits

Spanish mackerel are

carnivore A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they ar ...

s. As with other members of the genus, food consists mainly of small fishes with lesser quantities of

shrimp A shrimp (: shrimp (American English, US) or shrimps (British English, UK)) is a crustacean with an elongated body and a primarily Aquatic locomotion, swimming mode of locomotion – typically Decapods belonging to the Caridea or Dendrobranchi ...

and

squid A squid (: squid) is a mollusc with an elongated soft body, large eyes, eight cephalopod limb, arms, and two tentacles in the orders Myopsida, Oegopsida, and Bathyteuthida (though many other molluscs within the broader Neocoleoidea are also ...

. Striped anchovies (''Engraulidae'') and clupeoids such as

menhaden Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker, and "the most important fish in the sea", are forage fish of the genera ''Brevoortia'' and ''Ethmidium'', two genera of marine fish in the order Clupeiformes. ''Menhaden'' is a blend of ''poghaden'' ...

, alewives and thread herring (''Opisthonema''), are particularly important forage in

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, Florida, Texas, and

Veracruz Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave, is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the 32 Political divisions of Mexico, Federal Entit ...

. The percentage of anchovies consumed is higher for juveniles than for adults.

Fisheries

Fishing gear and methods

Spanish mackerel are a highly valued fish throughout their range from North Carolina to Texas. Recreational anglers catch Spanish mackerel from boats while

trolling In slang, a troll is a person who posts deliberately offensive or provocative messages online (such as in social media, a newsgroup, a internet forum, forum, a chat room, an Multiplayer video game, online video game) or who performs similar be ...

or drifting and from boats, piers, jetties, and beaches by casting spoons and jigs and live-bait

fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment (Freshwater ecosystem, freshwater or Marine ecosystem, marine), but may also be caught from Fish stocking, stocked Body of water, ...

. Fast lure retrieves are key to catching these quick fish. Commercial methods are primarily run-around gill netting, and rarely, by trolling lures similar to those used by recreational anglers. On November 4, 1987, Woody Outlaw caught a world-record 13 lb Spanish mackerel on a blue and white Sea Witch with a strip of fastback

on a 7/0 hook, held by a

Shimano , originally and later , is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational manufacturing company for cycling components, fishing tackle and rowing (sport), rowing equipment, which also produced golf supplies until 2005 and snowboarding gear ...

bait-casting reel on a Kuna rod with 30-pound-test line.

Management

Spanish mackerel are managed in commercial and recreation fisheries with bag limits, size limits, commercial trip limits, and with only seasonal fishing allowed. The management of mackerel has been considered a success because the population used to be in decline, but is now on the rise without

overfishing Overfishing is the removal of a species of fish (i.e. fishing) from a body of water at a rate greater than that the species can replenish its population naturally (i.e. the overexploitation of the fishery's existing Fish stocks, fish stock), resu ...

occurring.

As food

Spanish mackerel are primarily marketed fresh or frozen as fillets, as commercially caught fish are too small to sell in the form of steaks. Their raw flesh is white. They may be prepared by broiling,

frying Frying is the cooking of food in cooking oil, oil or another fat. Similar to sautéing, pan-fried foods are generally turned over once or twice during cooking to make sure that the food is evenly cooked, using tongs or a spatula, whilst sautéed ...

baking Baking is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven, but it can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot Baking stone, stones. Bread is the most commonly baked item, but many other types of food can also be baked. Heat is ...

, or rarely by

smoking Smoking is a practice in which a substance is combusted, and the resulting smoke is typically inhaled to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream of a person. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, whi ...

. The Spanish mackerel is also a popular

sushi is a traditional Japanese dish made with , typically seasoned with sugar and salt, and combined with a variety of , such as seafood, vegetables, or meat: raw seafood is the most common, although some may be cooked. While sushi comes in n ...

fish. By analogy with the Japanese Spanish mackerel, which is a member of the same genus, it is often called ''sawara'' on sushi menus.

Similar species

Spanish mackerel are similar in appearance to small king mackerel ('' Scomberomorus cavalla'') and cero mackerel ('' S. regalis''). All three are very similar in shape and coloration. They may be distinguished as follows: The lateral lines on Spanish and cero mackerel slope gradually from the top edge of the gill to the tail. In contrast, that of the king mackerel takes an abrupt drop at midbody. The first (spiny) dorsal on Spanish and cero mackerel has a prominent black patch. The king mackerel has none. As all three species normally keep the first dorsal folded back in a body groove, this difference is not immediately evident. Spanish mackerel have prominent yellow spots on the flanks at all sizes. In addition to such spots, cero mackerel have one or more yellow stripes along the centerline. Young king mackerel have similar, but slightly smaller spots; these fade away on individuals weighing over , but they may still be seen as spots of slightly darker green on the upper back from some angles of view. Worldwide, many members of this genus ae quite similar to one or another of these three species. In particular, off Mexico, Atlantic Spanish mackerel may be confused with Sierra Spanish mackerel ''( S. brasiliensis)'', which may appear in the same area.

References

External links

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q311047 Atlantic Spanish mackerel Commercial fish Game fish Fish of the Western Atlantic Fish of the Eastern United States Fish of the Gulf of Mexico Taxa named by Samuel L. Mitchill Atlantic Spanish mackerel