Facts about Mackerel
The king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla, is the largest species called mackerel.
Within the family, Nelson (1994) recognizes two subfamilies: Gasterochismatinae, with just one species (Gasterochisma melampus, the bigscale mackerel or butterfly mackerel) and Scombrinae (with 14 genera of mackerels, tunas, and bonitas).
Jack mackerels are marine fishes in the Trachurus genus of the Carangidae family.
Mainly in Scandinavia, canned mackerel in tomato sauce is commonly used as sandwich filling.
Common features of mackerels are a slim, cylindrical shape (as opposed to the tunas, which are deeper bodied) and numerous finlets on the dorsal and ventral sides behind the dorsal and anal fins.
The Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus, is a pelagic schooling species of mackerel found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean.
The term Melanesia can be used in either an anthropological or a geographical context.
Atlantic mackerel is extremely high in vitamin B12, and is also very high in omega 3, containing nearly twice as much per unit weight as does salmon.
Mackerels, like tunas, have a deeply forked or crescent-shaped tail, and the body is very narrow right before the tail.
Scombridae is the "mackerel family," placed within the Scombroidei subfamily of the Perciformes order.
Gempylidae, the snake mackerels, is a family of oblong or elongate and compressed marine fish also within the Scombroidei subfamily (Nelson 1994).
Among well-known species of mackerel are the king mackerel, Atlantic mackerel, and the blue mackerel.
King mackerel commonly occur in depths of 40 to 150 feet (12–45 m), where the principal fisheries occur.
Mackerel provide important commercial, nutritional, recreational, and ecological values.
The king mackerel has a high-fat flesh with a pleasant savory flavor, making it quite popular (Herbst 2001).
The tribe Grammatorcynini has one genus, Grammatorcynus, with two species of "double-lined mackerels."
Most live offshore in the oceanic environment, but a few, like the Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus maculatus), enter bays and can be caught near bridges and piers.
Mackerel can spoil quickly, especially in the tropics, causing scombroid food poisoning; it should be eaten on the day of capture, unless cured.
The genus contains many important commercial and game fish, such as the Pacific jack mackerel, Trachurus symmetricus.
Mackerels are part of the Scrombridae family of the Suborder Scrombroidei.
Mackerel, like the tunas, are important in food chains, consuming fish, plankton, and mollusks, and being consumed by sharks, rays, billfishes, larger tunas, and toothed whales.
The blue mackerel feeds upon copepods and other crustaceans, squid, and small fish.
The suborder includes also barracudas, snake mackerels (family Gempylidae), and cutlassfishes (Nelson 1994).