Scientific Name
Trachurus trachurus

Common Name
Atlantic horse mackerel

Biology
Adults form large schools in coastal areas with sandy substrate. Feed on fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Are batch spawners (Ref. 51846). Females lay 140,000 eggs, which hatch into 5mm long larvae (Ref. 35388). Eggs are pelagic (Ref. 4233). Utilized fresh, smoked, canned and frozen; can be fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988). Divided into two stocks: West stock and North Sea stock. West stock spawns in a belt from the Biscay to Ireland in early spring, migrates north and eastwards to southern Norway and northern North Sea. North Sea stock spawns in the southern North Sea in summer, migrates to central North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat.

Classification

Classified By

Linnaeus, 1758

Class

Ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii)

Order

Perch-like fish (Perciformes)

Family

Jacks and pompanos (Carangidae)

Distribution

Region

Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic

Distribution

Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic: Norway to South Africa, round the coast to Maputo.

Range

67°N - 19°S, 26°W - 41°E

Environment

Climate

Subtropical

Water Temperature From

Unknown °C

Water Temperature To

Unknown °C

Depth From - meters

0 m

Depth To - meters

1050 m

Zone

pelagic-neritic

Environment

Marine; pelagic-neritic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 1050 m (Ref. 54256), usually 100 - 200 m (Ref. 54256)

Trophic Level

3.64 s.e. 0.58 Based on diet studies.

Occurs in Marine / Salt water

True

Occurs in Brackish water

False

Occurs in Fresh Water

False

Occurs on Reefs

False

Is kept in Aquariums

False

Physical Size and Genetics

Maximum Length

70.0 cm

Common Length

22.0 cm

Phylogenetic Diversity Index

PD50 = 0.5000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Human Uses and Population

Human Uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes; bait: usually

Vulnerability

High vulnerability (56 of 100)

Resilience

Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.12-0.16; tm=2-4; tmax=11; Fec=70,000)

Threat To Humans

Harmless

IUCN Red List Status

Not Evaluated