COMMON MARINE FISHES 



57 



Ml' 



JACK MACKEREL 

 Trachurus symmefricus 



Relationship: A member of the jack family, Caranj,Mda 

 .ellowtail and the sr-ad. Not a true mackerel. 



which also includes 



Distinguishing Characters: The two dorsal fius which are close together and 

 about the same height; the bony shields along the entire length of the lateral line 

 which bends down abruptly just above the vent ; the lack of a distinctly separate finlet 

 after the dorsal and anal fins. (The scad has a separate finlet after the dorsal and anal 

 fins. It is not common in California.) Length: There is a record of a specimen 

 22 inches long which weighed four pounds. Color: Iridescent green above, sometimes 

 with a bluish luster, often mottled with lighter and darker shades ; silvery on the 

 sides and belly. 



Distribution: Northern California south at least into Me.xican waters. Has 

 been reported from the Galapagos Islands and Chile but these records are now thought 

 to refer to another species. Uncommon in Northern California. A schooling fish, often 

 occurring with Pacific mackerel or sardines. 



Fishing Season: Throughout the year, but with maximum landings during the 

 fall and winter. 



Importance: Not the object of an intensive fishery until 1947. In previous years, 

 it was taken incidentally, for the most part, by the sardine purse seine fleet. Ranked 

 eighth in poundage but only eighteenth in value among our fisheries in 1946, when 

 somewhat over half the catch was delivered at Los Angeles and the balance at Monterey. 

 Prior to 1946 and again in 1947 nearly all the catch was made in Southern California 

 waters. Used almost entirely for canning. 



Fishing Gear: Round haul nets, chiefly purse seines, and accidentally ou lines 

 or in scoops. Occasionally taken by sportsmen. 



Unauthorized Names: Horse mackerel, Spanish mackerel, jackfish, saurel. 



