Atlantic mackerel

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Atlantic Mackerel

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Perciformes
Family:	Scombridae
Genus:	Scomber
Species:	S. scombrus

Binomial name

Scomber scombrus
Linnaeus, 1758

The Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus, is a pelagic schooling species of mackerel found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean. The species is also called Boston mackerel, or just mackerel.

The Atlantic Mackerel is by far the most common of the ten species of the family that are caught in British waters. It is extremely common in huge shoals migrating towards the coast to feed on small fish and prawns during the summer.

In the Northwest Atlantic, it occurs from Labrador to North Carolina. The Northwest Atlantic population of mackerel consists of two major components which follow different migratory patterns but do not appear to be genetically distinct. Mackerel of both components overwinter along the edge of the continental shelf from Sable Island, Nova Scotia, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The southern component moves inshore and northward to spawn in the Mid-Atlantic Bight in spring and then moves further northward into the Gulf of Maine in summertime. The northern component reaches Southern New England waters in late May and then moves northward to the Gulf of St Lawrence where spawning occurs in June and July. Fish of both groups move southward en route to overwintering areas during the autumn.

Male and female Atlantic mackerel grow at about the same rate, reaching a maximum age of about 20 years and a maximum fork length of about 47 cm. Most Atlantic mackerel are sexually mature by the age of three years.

[edit] As Food

Mackerel fillet in tomato sauce, a popular food in Scandinavia and the UK.

Atlantic mackerel are sought after for food either cooked or as sashimi. It consists mostly of red meat and has a strong taste desirable to some consumers. Atlantic mackerel is extremely high in vitamin B₁₂. Atlantic mackerel is also very high in omega 3, containing nearly twice as much per unit weight as does salmon. Unlike King mackerel and Spanish mackerel, Northern Atlantic mackerel are very low in mercury, and can be eaten at least twice a week according to EPA guidelines.

Although Atlantic mackerel have been somewhat depleted in the waters around Europe, the atlantic mackerel population apparently persists at abundant levels in U.S. waters despite being overfished in the 1970s.

Mainly in Scandinavia, canned mackerel in tomato sauce is commonly used as sandwich filling.