King Mackerel
Family Scombridae, MACKERELS and TUNAS
Scomberomorous cavalla
Illustrations and Copyright by Diane Rome Peebles
Illustrations are for viewing purposes only.
Description: color of back iridescent bluish green; sides silvery, streamlined body with tapered head; no black pigment on front of dorsal fin; lateral line starts high and drops sharply below the second dorsal fin; young fish often have yellow spots like those of the Spanish mackerel.
Similar Fish: cero, S. regalis; Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus.
Where found: NEARSHORE and OFFSHORE, occasionally taken from piers running into deep water.
Size: common to 20 pounds.
*Florida Record: 90 lbs.
Remarks: schooling fish that migrates fom south Florida waters in winter to more northerly waters in spring; Gulf population thought to be separate from Atlantic population, with considerable mixing in winter from Cape Canaveral past Key West; spawns in midsummer OFFSHORE; feeds on small fish and squid.
* The Florida records quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's printed publication, Fishing Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are provided as only as a benchmark. |
