Kingfish ; Cero ; Cavalla 



to 5 or 6 feet in length, 20 pounds or more in weight, and is 

 an excellent game and food-fish. It is found on the south 

 Florida Coast and is caught by trolling. It is not always dis- 

 tinguished by the fishermen from the Spanish mackerel or the cero. 



Head 4^; depth 4$-; D. XVII-I, 15- VIII; A. II-I4-VIII. Body 

 rather elongate, its dorsal and ventral curves about equal; lateral 

 line descending obliquely, undulating along the tail; mouth large, 

 maxillary reaching to below eye; angle of peopercle produced 

 backward; caudal peduncle rather slender, its least depth 5^- in 

 head; caudal fin less widely forked than in the Spanish mackerel; 

 teeth triangular, strongly compressed, about 40 in each jaw; pec- 

 toral scaly. Colour, silvery; side with 2 blackish longitudinal 

 bands crossing lateral line below soft dorsal, each posteriorly 

 broken up into longitudinal spots, above and below these are 

 numerous brownish spots in rows, persistent in adult; front of 

 spinous dorsal black. 



Kingfish; Cero: Cavalla 



Scomberomonfc cavalla (Cuvier & Valenciennes) 



Of all the host of Florida game-fishes that are used as food this is 

 the greatest. Indeed, there are few game-fishes which excel it in 

 size, strength, swiftness of movement, or fighting powers. The 

 cero is a fish of the tropical seas, often coming in immense numbers 

 to the coasts of Florida and the Carolinas, and ranging north to Cape 

 Cod and south to Brazil and Africa. It is common on our South 

 Atlantic Coast and among the Florida Keys. At Key West it is, 

 next to the grunt, the most important food-fish. It usually appears in 

 November and remains until April, during which time it is caught by 

 trolling. It is said to school at spawning time which is late in 

 winter. As a food-fish it takes a very high rank, the flesh being 

 firm and of excellent flavour. 



The cero reaches a length of 5 feet and a weight of 100 pounds. 

 Examples weighing 40 to 50 pounds are not rare. The largest one of 

 which we could find an authentic record at Key West dressed 52 

 pounds. The average size, however, of those taken about Key 

 West is only about 10 pounds, or perhaps even less. When the 

 Key West fisherman desires large cero he directs his course toward 

 the inshore grounds, lying in about 3 fathoms of water and \\ to 3 

 miles from shore, where the water is less clear; and when smaller 

 ones are wanted they are found further off shore along the edge of 



287 



