Name: Atlantic horse mackerel, horse mackerel
Scientific Name: Trachurus trachurus (Linnaeus, 1758)
Family: Carangidae
Group: Bony fish
Class: Fish
Size: 26-50 cm.
Atlantic horse mackerel or ‘scad' have a fusiform, quite muscular body with strong fins, which allow them to swim fast and constantly. Adults form shoals, which spend the winter away from the coast and only approach the coast in spring and summer to spawn. These shoals shelter next to the bottom during the day and feed at night, next to the surface. Juveniles shelter among the tentacles of jellyfish, where they also obtain food remains from the prey of the medusa. Fishing these baby mackerel prevents them from growing and reproducing at least once in their lifetime, which threatens the future of the species.
Photo by:
D. Luquet
D. Luquet
Oceanário Location
