| Indo-Pacific king mackerel | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Perciformes |
| Family: | Scombridae |
| Genus: | Scomberomorus |
| Species: | S. guttatus |
| Binomial name | |
| Scomberomorus guttatus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801) |
|
Indo-Pacific king mackerel or popularly (spotted) seer fish (Scomberomorus guttatus) is a sea fish among the mackerel variety of fishes. It is found in around the Indian ocean and adjoining seas.
It is a popular game fish and grows up to 45 kg (100 lbs) and is a strong fighter, that has on occasion been seen to leap out of the water when hooked. It is excellent tablefare and is primarily caught by sportfishermen trolling with plugs (Rapala or Stretch 25+, 30+) or feathers/jigs, and on 30 lbf (130 N) tackle it is extremely sporting. At times it is possible to catch more than one by casting silver spoons or pirks when one is hooked while trolling.
It is very popular among the countries of the Indian subcontinent including India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. It's a fairly expensive fish that's considered a delicacy in most places. In addition to being cooked and eaten when fresh, it is also used to make fish pickle, usually eaten as a condiment with rice.
It is known by various names, such as Surmai (सुरमई) in Marathi, Vanjaram in Telugu,Vanjaram (வஞ்சிரம்) or NeiMeen (நெய்மீன்) in Tamil, NeiMeen (നെയ്മീന്) or Aykkoora (അയക്കൂറ, ഐക്കൂറ) in Malayalam, Anjal in Tulu, Arkoli in Kannada, Iswaan in Konkani and Thora in Sinhala.