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Scomber scombrus  Linnaeus, 1758

Atlantic mackerel
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Scomber scombrus
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Denmark country information

Common names: Almindelig makrel, Makrel
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Muus, B.J. and P. Dahlstrøm, 1989
Importance: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1992
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: restricted | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Occurs in all waters around Denmark (Ref. 6302). Minimum size limit in TL for commercial fishing: 30 cm in the North Sea; 20 cm in Skagerrak and Kattegat (Ref. 10963). Also Ref. 173, 9900.
National Checklist:
Country Information: httpss://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/da.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen, 1983
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Perciformes (Perch-likes) > Scombridae (Mackerels, tunas, bonitos) > Scombrinae
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Скумбрия обыкновенная, Maquereau commun, Caballa del Atlántico, ... more

Main reference

Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen. 1983. (Ref. 168)
 References | Biblio | Coordinator : Collette, Bruce B. | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 60.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 35388); common length : 30.0 cm FL male/unsexed; (Ref. 168); max. published weight: 3.4 kg (Ref. 9988); max. reported age: 17 years (Ref. 207)

Length at first maturity
 Lm 28.7, range 34 - ? cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 54254), usually 0 - 200 m (Ref. 54254)

Climate / Range

Temperate, preferred 10°C (Ref. 107945); 70°N - 25°N, 77°W - 42°E

Distribution

North Atlantic: including the Mediterranean.
 Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 8 - 14; Dorsal soft rays (total): 113; Anal spines: 1; Anal soft rays: 12 - 13; Vertebrae: 31. This species has the following characters: no well developed corselet; interpelvic process small and single; anal fin spine conspicuous, joined to the fin by a membrane but clearly independent of it; anal fin origin opposite that of second dorsal fin; no swim bladder; first haemal spine anterior to first interneural process; 21-28 interneural bones under first dorsal fin; markings on back oblique to near vertical, with relatively little undulating; belly unmarked (Ref. 168).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Abundant in cold and temperate shelf areas, forms large schools near the surface. They overwinter in deeper waters but move closer to shore in spring when water temperatures range between 11° and 14°C. Mainly diurnal, it feeds on zooplankton and small fish. Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). Batch spawner (Ref. 51846). The species is traded fresh, frozen, smoked and canned. Eaten fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988). Two stocks in north-east Atlantic: North Sea (east) and British Isles (west). North Sea stock decreased dramatically in the 1960's because of direct overfishing. Recruitment has been poor and unstable. After spawning, the adult feed very actively moving around in small shoals (Ref. 35388).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

  Least Concern (LC) 

Threat to humans

  Harmless



Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes

Tools

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Field guide | Identification keys | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

BHL | BOLDSystems | Check for other websites | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO(fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GOBASE | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | iSpecies | National databases | Public aquariums | PubMed | Scirus | Sea Around Us | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | uBio | uBio RSS | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record | Fishtrace

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
 PD50 = 0.5625 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
 3.6   ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
 Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (rm=0.33-0.56; K=0.23-0.27; tm=2-3; tmax=17; Fec=200,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
 Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100)
Price category (Ref. 80766)
 Medium