Scientific name: SCOMBER SCOMBRUS
Market name: Atlantic Mackerel
A superb fish, great value and readily available. Ranging in size from 200-800g, Mackerel has a bullet shaped body with silvery-blue skin with dark wavy stripes, and numerous finlets on the dorsal and ventral sides behind the dorsal and anal fins. The scales are extremely small, if present.
Mackerel are found off all British coasts, in the Mediterranean Sea, and on the American side of the north Atlantic. It is extremely common in huge shoals migrating towards the coast to feed on small fish and prawns during the summer. Feeding ceases when the mackerel return to deeper water during the winter.
The females are mature at 2/3 years old which equates to a size of approximately 34cm. Between 200/450,000 eggs are laid in each spawning season. At spawning time, the eggs and sperm of the mackerel are released into the sea. The egg is just over 1 mm long, with an amber oil globule that keeps it floating in the pelagic surface waters. Surviving larvae at 3 mm long will feed on copepods.
One of the richest sources of Omega 3, Mackerel has greyish flesh with a rich flavour.