Talk:Spanish mackerel

This article is about the tribe, not the species!

@20163023jc: I see that you put a lot of effort into edits to this page over the last few days. Regrettably, I had to remove most of it, because this page is about the Scomberomorini tribe, a group of 21 distinct fish species that are spread across 3 separate genera.

It appears that most of your additions were specific to a particular species, and were not applicable to the entire tribe. Further, I could not tell which species you were focused on, so I could not move your work elsewhere. I suspect you may be referring to the narrow-barred Spanish mackerel, (Scomberomorus commerson), but you would need to confirm that and edit the page accordingly. For the moment, therefore, your work has been preserved below:

Description

The Spanish mackerel is most commonly known for its long and narrow body shape with razor sharp teeth to help adapt to predator life. They are a general dark metallic silver colour, with a distinct blue-grey in colouring above the lateral line, banded vertical pattern along the whole of the body, and spot marks towards the rear of the anal fin.

The Spanish mackerel has been recorded to live for longer than 20 years, to weigh up to 40 kilograms (88 lb), and to grow in length for around 2.4 metres (7.9 ft).

Distribution & Habitat

Distribution

Global distribution of Spanish Mackerel.

"Pelagic fishes generally exhibit little geographic differentiation across oceans", although their distribution is global, with the most common locations on record extending between the Indo-Pacific oceans throughout the Red Sea and South African waters, to the Southern Ocean in the south of Australia. They can also be found among the oceans of Southeast Asia, north towards China and Japan, and also in the eastern Mediterranean Sea, predominantly within the tropical and sub-tropical waters of these regions.

Within surrounding Australian waters, Spanish Mackerel can be located from the northern coast boarder of Northern Territory and Western Australia, down to Geographe Bay in the south of Western Australian and all the way round to the northern and eastern oceans of St Helens in Tasmania.

Habitat

Spanish mackerel are classified as a pelagic (surface-dwelling) fish, where their natural environment is known to be among offshore and coastal reefs. Within the Australian geographical location, Spanish mackerel remain to have a high concentration in numbers along the areas of the continental shelf boundaries, equal to shallow coastal waters.

Throughout the juvenile periods of a Spanish mackerel’s lifespan, up to the age of five years old, they appear more often in schools and are considerably more mobile than in the later stages of their life. Juveniles are known to live amidst creeks, estuaries, and protected mud flats through early wet seasons. Adult Spanish mackerel on the other hand, have been discovered to be more connected with coral reefs, rocky shoals, and current lines on outer reef and offshore regions when it comes to their territories.

Migration Patterns

Global migration of Spanish Mackerel

In Australia waters, the migration of Spanish mackerel generally occurs throughout the east coast of Queensland. However, in southern waters this particular species of fish can travel up to as far as 1000 nautical miles south into New South Wales waters, migrating along the warmer waters of the Leeuwin Current. Some species of this fish disperse along the coastal regions, possibly moving into deeper shelf waters.

Adult Spanish mackerel generally form groups, more commonly known as the term aggregate, among coastal areas to feed and fertiliser, releasing sperm and eggs to begin reproduction.

Globally, the migration of Spanish mackerel follows along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean northward amidst the warmer months, then in the direction of Florida in the winter season. Additionally, there are some fish among this species that migrate early to the west, off the Gulf of Mexico.

Recreational Fisheries

The Spanish mackerel are a targeted species of fish for recreational and commercial fishers in Western Australia. Greatest numbers of commercial and recreational fishing take place north of Geraldton, particularly along the Kimberley and Pilbara coastal regions.

On Novemer, 4 1987, a 13 pound Spanish Mackerel was caught off Ocracoke, North Carolina on the Sea Walker setting a new world record for the species.

Management

Recently, studies have shown a dramatic increase in overfishing of the Spanish mackerel species, causing a marine ecological imbalance. Rules and regulations have since been introduced to the departments, where recreational fishers will only be permitted to carry a certain number of the fish itself (also known as a ‘bag limit’).

Notes

—grolltech^(talk) 16:04, 19 May 2016 (UTC)