A fast, schooling pelagic fish with iridescent green-and-black wavy stripes, a staple of small-fish fisheries.
Where it lives
Atlantic mackerel inhabit the temperate North Atlantic from Labrador to Cape Hatteras and from Iceland to the western Mediterranean. They are highly migratory, moving inshore during summer to feed and offshore to deeper water in winter, where some stocks hibernate near the seabed.
How to recognise it
A streamlined, spindle-shaped body built for sustained speed. The back is iridescent blue-green crossed by wavy black bars; the belly is silvery white with no spots. Two well-separated dorsal fins and five finlets ahead of the deeply forked tail. No swim bladder, so mackerel must keep swimming to maintain depth.
Diet & behavior
Mackerel form dense schools that feed by ram-filtering copepods, krill, and other zooplankton, plus small fish like sand lance and herring fry. Spawning happens in late spring and summer with eggs broadcast into the upper water column.
Fisheries & Conservation
Globally Least Concern. Northeast Atlantic stocks support enormous purse-seine and trawl fisheries; quota disputes among Atlantic nations remain politically contentious.
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Atlantic Mackerel starts with A and ends with L. Browse other fish along the same letter.
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