The king mackerel (''Scomberomorus cavalla'') surmayi or kingfish, 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. ...

of the western

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

and

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 ...

. It is an important species to both the commercial and recreational

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, ...

industries.

Description

The king mackerel is a medium-sized fish, typically encountered from to , but is known to exceed . The entire body is covered with very small, hardly visible, loosely attached scales. The first (spiny)

dorsal fin A dorsal fin is a fin on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates. Dorsal fins have evolved independently several times through convergent evolution adapting to marine environments, so the fins are not all homologous. They are found ...

is entirely colorless and is normally folded back into a body groove, as are the

pelvic fin Pelvic fins or ventral fins are paired fins located on the ventral (belly) surface of fish, and are the lower of the only two sets of paired fins (the other being the laterally positioned pectoral fins). The pelvic fins are homologous to the hi ...

s. 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 ...

starts high on the shoulder, dips abruptly at mid-body and then continues as a wavy horizontal line to the tail. Coloration is olive on the back, fading to silver with a rosy iridescence on the sides, fading to white on the belly. Fish under show yellowish-brown spots on the flanks, somewhat smaller than the spots of the Atlantic Spanish mackerel, ''Scomberomorus maculatus''. Its cutting-edged teeth are large, uniform, closely spaced and flattened from side to side. These teeth look very similar to those of the bluefish, ''Pomatomus saltatrix''.

Distribution and habitat

The king mackerel is a subtropical species of the Atlantic Coast of the Americas. Common in the coastal zone from

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 ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, it occurs as far south as

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

, and occasionally as far north as the

Gulf of Maine The Gulf of Maine is a large gulf of the Atlantic Ocean on the east coast of North America. It is bounded by Cape Cod at the eastern tip of Massachusetts in the southwest and by Cape Sable Island at the southern tip of Nova Scotia in the northea ...

and found in Western coast of India predominantly in the

Arabian Sea The Arabian Sea () is a region of sea in the northern Indian Ocean, bounded on the west by the Arabian Peninsula, Gulf of Aden and Guardafui Channel, on the northwest by Gulf of Oman and Iran, on the north by Pakistan, on the east by India, and ...

as well as in the East coast of India

Bay of Bengal The Bay of Bengal is the northeastern part of the Indian Ocean. Geographically it is positioned between the Indian subcontinent and the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese peninsula, located below the Bengal region. Many South Asian and Southe ...

Indian Ocean The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or approximately 20% of the water area of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia (continent), ...

. Nonetheless, a preference for water temperatures in the range of may limit distribution. King mackerel commonly occur in depths of , where the principal fisheries occur. Larger kings (heavier than 9 kg or 20 lb) often occur inshore, in the mouths of inlets and harbors, and occasionally even at the depths at the edge of the

Gulf Stream The Gulf Stream is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the United States, then veers east near 36°N latitude (North Carolin ...

Migration patterns

King mackerel migrate with seasonal changes in water temperature and with changes in food availability. They migrate to the northern part of their range in the summer and to the southern part in the winter, swimming in large schools. Both the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico stocks congregate in a winter mixing zone in an area of Monroe County, Florida, south of the Florida Keys, between November and March.

Life history

Eggs and sperm are shed into the sea and their union is by chance. Depending on size, a female may shed from 50,000 to several million eggs over the spawning season. Fertilized eggs hatch in about 24 hours. The newly hatched larva is about long with a large yolk sack. Little is known about king mackerel in their first year of life. Yearling fish typically attain an average weight of and a fork length of . At age seven, females average , males . King mackerel may attain , but any over is almost certainly a female.

Feeding habits

King mackerel are voracious, opportunistic carnivores. Their prey depends on their size. Depending on area and season, they favor squid,

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'' ...

and other

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

-like fish ( Clupeidae), jacks (

Carangidae The Carangidae are a family of ray-finned fish that includes the jacks, pompanos, jack mackerels, runners, trevallies, and scads. It is the largest of the six families included within the order Carangiformes. Some authorities classify it as the ...

cutlassfish The cutlassfishes are about 45 species of predatory ray-finned fish in the family Trichiuridae of the order Scombriformes found in seas throughout the world. Fish of this family are long, slender, and generally steely blue or silver in colour, ...

( Trichiuridae),

weakfish ''Cynoscion'' is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the family, Sciaenidae, the drums and croakers. These fishes are found off the coasts of North and South America in the western Atlantic and eastern Pacific Oceans. Many fishes in ...

(

Sciaenidae Sciaenidae is a family (biology), family of ray-finned fishes belonging to the Order (biology), order Acanthuriformes. They are commonly called drums or croakers in reference to the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make. The family co ...

), grunts (

Haemulidae Haemulidae is a family (biology), family of fishes in the order (biology), order Perciformes known commonly as grunts. It is made up of the two subfamily, subfamilies Haemulinae (grunts) and Plectorhynchinae (sweetlips), which contain about 133 ...

), striped anchovies ( Engraulidae), cigar minnows, threadfin, northern mackerel, and blue runners. They do not attack humans but will defend themselves against perceived threats, including humans flailing or thrashing in man-overboard and similar situations, by biting.

Fisheries

King mackerel capture production thousand tonnes 1950-2022

Fishing gear and methods

King mackerel are among the most sought-after gamefish throughout their range from North Carolina to Texas. Known throughout the sportfishing world for their blistering runs, the king mackerel matches its distant relative, the wahoo, in speed. They are taken mostly by trolling, using various live and dead baitfish, spoons, jigs and other artificial lures. Commercial gear consists of run-around gill nets. They are also taken commercially by trolling with large planers, heavy tackle and lures similar to those used by sport fishers. Typically when using live bait, two hooks are tied to a strong metal leader. The first may be a treble or single and is hooked through the live bait's nose and/or mouth. The second hook (treble hook) is placed through the top of the fish's back or allowed to swing free. This must be done because king mackerel commonly bite the tail section of a bait fish. When trolling for kings using this method, it is important to make sure the baitfish are swimming properly. Typical tackle includes a conventional or spinning reel capable of holding of test monofilament and a , class rod. Several organizations have found success in promoting tournament events for this species because of their popularity as a sport fish. The most notable are the Southern Kingfish Association (SKA) and the FLW Outdoors tour. These events are covered in several outdoors publications, both in print and online.

As food

Processing

As of 2005, king mackerel are primarily marketed fresh. They may be sold as fillets, steaks, or in the round (whole). Their raw flesh is grayish, due to its high fat content. They are best prepared by grilling, frying, baking or, especially for large "smoker" king, by smoking. King makerel

Nutrition

According to the

United States Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respo ...

, king mackerel is one of four fishes, along with

swordfish The swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as the broadbill in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are the sole member of the Family (biology), family Xiphiidae. They ...

shark Sharks are a group of elasmobranch cartilaginous fish characterized by a ribless endoskeleton, dermal denticles, five to seven gill slits on each side, and pectoral fins that are not fused to the head. Modern sharks are classified within the ...

, and

tilefish file:Malacanthus latovittatus.jpg, 250px, Blue blanquillo, ''Malacanthus latovittatus'' Tilefishes are mostly small perciform marine fish comprising the family (biology), family Malacanthidae. They are usually found in sandy areas, especially n ...

, that children and pregnant women should avoid due to high levels of

methylmercury Methylmercury is an organometallic cation with the formula . It is the simplest organomercury compound. Methylmercury is extremely toxic, and its derivatives are the major source of organic mercury for humans. It is a bioaccumulative environment ...

found in these fish and the consequent risk of

mercury poisoning Mercury poisoning is a type of metal poisoning due to exposure to mercury. Symptoms depend upon the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. They may include muscle weakness, poor coordination, numbness in the hands and feet, skin rashe ...

.Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2010)

. Retrieved September, 2015.

Similar species

Small king mackerel are similar in appearance to Atlantic Spanish mackerel, ''Scomberomorus maculatus'', and

cero mackerel The cero (''Scomberomorus regalis''), also known as the pintado, kingfish,Free Dictionary online
(retrieved 18 Sept ...

, ''Scomberomorus regalis'', all three species being similar in shape and coloration. They may be distinguished as follows: The lateral line on Atlantic Spanish mackerel and cero slopes gradually from the top edge of the gill to the tail. In contrast, that of the king mackerel takes an abrupt drop at mid-body (see illustration). The first (spiny) dorsal fin on Atlantic Spanish mackerel and cero has a prominent black patch. The king mackerel does not. As all three species normally keep the first dorsal folded back in a body groove, this difference is not immediately evident. Atlantic Spanish mackerel have prominent yellow spots on the flanks at all sizes. In addition to such spots, cero 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 may still be seen as slightly darker green spots toward the back from some angles of view. Worldwide, many fish of these three species are quite similar to one or another. Off Mexico, Atlantic Spanish mackerel may be confused with Serra Spanish mackerel, ''Scomberomorus brasiliensis''.