COLLETTE and RUSSO: SPANISH MACKERELS 



TABLE 14. — Summary of morphometric data of Scomberomorus cavalla. FL = fork length, HL = head length. 



black area in the anterior part of the first dorsal 

 fin as do many species of Scomberomorus. 



Black and white photographs are given by 

 Jordan and Evermann (1902) and Randall (1968: 

 fig. 136). The drawing published by Goode (1884: 

 pi. 94) is included here as Figure 50. 



Biology. — A summary of biological information 

 has been presented by Berrien and Finan (1977a) 

 and there is also a useful annotated bibliography 

 by Manooch et al. (1978). King mackerel appear 

 to be present all year in Louisiana (Fischer 1980) 

 and in the state of Ceara in northeastern Brazil. 

 Some populations appear to be resident in south 

 Florida waters as they are available to the recre- 

 ational fishery throughout the year. However, 

 the large schools that are found in south Florida 

 waters during January and February move north 

 along both coasts in the spring (Moe 1972). 

 Schools that occur offshore of Palm Beach and 

 Martin Counties on the east coast of Florida in 

 winter and early spring move north. They appear 

 off North Carolina in April and remain until fall 

 (DeVane 1978). On the west coast of Florida, king 

 mackerel move north to the Naples-Ft. Myers or 

 St. Petersburg-Tampa areas by April and Cape 



San Bias in May (Sutherland and Fable 1980). 

 The main run usually arrives in Panama City, 

 Fla., in late May or early June. The westward 

 migration along the northern Gulf of Mexico ends 

 off west Texas in June-July (Sutherland and 

 Fable 1980). Return migration in the fall from 

 summer feeding grounds in the northwest Gulf to 

 winter feeding grounds off southern Florida has 

 been confirmed by recaptured tagged fish (Suth- 

 erland and Fable 1980). Based on gonad develop- 

 ment and larval distribution, spawning takes 

 place in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico and in 

 the Atlantic offshore of Cape Kennedy, Fla., and 

 northward in late summer (Moe 1972). According 

 to Beaumariage (1973), spawning in Florida may 

 be protracted as indicated by successive increase 

 in vitellogenic oocyte size during the summer. 

 Spawning takes place in May-September in the 

 western Gulf of Mexico, especially in September 

 in waters 35-183 m deep over the middle and 

 outer continental shelf (McEachran et al. 1980). 

 In the northeastern Caribbean, spawning peaked 

 in July and August (Erdman 1977). Spawning is 

 year round offshore of Ceara, northeastern Brazil 

 (Ivo 1972). Larvae and juveniles (139 specimens, 

 2.8-28.8 mm SL) were taken off the northwest 



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