Common Mackerel 



The mackerel first appear in spring off Gape Hatteras, and 

 later reach the shores of the Middle and New England States 

 and the British possessions, coming in from the sea from a 

 southerly or southeasterly direction. They leave the coast in the 

 same way in fall and winter. It is a wandering fish, and its 

 movements and the causes thereof are not fully understood. It 

 is one of the most abundant fishes on our Atlantic Coast, going 

 in schools often of great extent. It is on record that in 1848 a 

 school was seen one-half mile wide, and at least 20 miles long. 

 Another school, seen in 1877 off Block Island, was estimated to 

 contain 1,000,000 barrels. The schools swim at the surface or 

 near it, and in a rather compact body. 



Periods of scarcity alternate with seasons of abundance. The 

 New England catch in 1885 was 330,000 barrels, and the average 

 for the 8 years ending in i88s was 309,000 barrels. In 1886 it 

 dropped to 80,000 barrels, and in the succeeding 10 years it 

 amounted to only 481,000. The yield in 1898 was 5,769,000 

 pounds, valued at $307,000, and 15,500 barrels salted, valued at 

 $179,000. 



In 1900 the catch landed at Boston and Gloucester amounted 

 to 8,889,294 pounds fresh, valued at $389,952, and 15,965,500 

 pounds salted, valued at $837,743, or a total of 24,854,794 pounds, 

 valued at $1,227,695. For 1901 the catch landed at these 2 ports 

 amounted to 14,637,615 pounds, valued at $704,375. 



The spawning season on our coasts extends from May to 

 July, June probably being the principal month. The spawning 

 grounds are in rather deep water along the coast from Long 

 Island to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Most of the bays and sounds 

 on the New England Coast contain important spawning-grounds. 

 Prior to spawning, and for several weeks after, the mackerel are 

 lean and poor, and do not make No. i fish when salted. 



The mackerel feeds upon the small crustaceans and other 

 small animals which swarm in the sea, and is, in turn, fed upon 

 by other fishes, birds, and cetaceans. One of the surface-swim- 

 ming copepods, known as "red feed" or "cayenne," is a favour- 

 ite food; when mackerel have been feeding freely on it, they 

 spoil very quickly after being caught, owing to their sides rot- 

 ting or " burning." Among the fish which the mackerel eat may 

 be named herring, anchovy, sand launce, menhaden, and silver- 

 sides. Among fishes, sharks are, perhaps, the worst enemies of 



274 



