2 species of mackerel in our waters?

[chuckaroo]

came across people talking about this on Facebook
both these fish were caught in the UK over the weekend. spot the difference?:

10644808_10152286981550800_803393341582640422_n.png

Can anyone suggest why these 2 mackerel have different patterns?
Has anyone on here caught mackerel and noticed differences similar to these fish?

it has been suggested that they are two different species of mackerel, namely the Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus and the Atlantic Chub Mackerel Scomber colias.
There is another species called the Pacific Chub Mackerel Scomber japonicus that looks very similar again but apparently, obvious from its name, is only found in the Pacific Ocean...

my instinct was that they were both the same species, that they just had differing patterns in their backs, but this seems to be untrue.. i just have never caught or noticed such a difference before

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Last edited by chuckaroo on Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:37 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Hi ya I have seen this before and I watched a program about it . There is two types one comes from the icelantic waters I think. That would be the bigger one.

I've heard of them before they are the same species just a rare different pattern good to see a photo I've only seen drawings in books before cool looking

The fish is a Chub Mackerel and is a different species to the Mackerel we catch. Anyone who has fished in the Med will be familiar with them. It's a rare thing indeed to find these fish in our waters so if they're turning up, it's a sure sign that the water temp is rising because these fellas don't like the cold. For those interested there's well over two dozen different species of Mackerel worldwide.

[chuckaroo]

The fish is a Chub Mackerel and is a different species to the Mackerel we catch. Anyone who has fished in the Med will be familiar with them. It's a rare thing indeed to find these fish in our waters so if they're turning up, it's a sure sign that the water temp is rising because these fellas don't like the cold. For those interested there's well over two dozen different species of Mackerel worldwide.

yeah, this seemed to be the most convincing statement pollachius virens, thanks. Someone said the same thing, that they recognise these fish from the med, that they are chub mackerel.
So is this Chub mackerel Scomber japonicus or Scomber colias?
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Scomber-japonicus.html
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Scomber-colias.html

There have been quite a few people catching these fish all over the UK and Ireland - recent rep[orts from England, Scotland, Co.Antrim, Donegal - and apparently they have been getting plenty of them in trawler catches landed at Killybegs.
People are blaming global warming, it could well be the case, but they have been caught in our waters in the past apparently.
This time of the year is when our local seas are at their warmest (at the end of the summer) so it will probably be the best time for this species to visit us?...

thanks for the replies

Last edited by chuckaroo on Mon Sep 29, 2014 11:40 am, edited 1 time in total.

Chub mackerel are not that rare, I recall seeing them routeinly on sale in O'Donoghue's in Lahinch in my childhood.

Chub mackerel are not that rare, I recall seeing them routeinly on sale in O'Donoghue's in Lahinch in my childhood.

thanks Kieran. And are you old...?
how long ago would that have been?

Bottom pic is an atlantic chub

cool, thanks Eoghan
can you define a distinguishing difference between the two species??

I dunno the chub looks deeper bodied bigger eye and more blue than green like our normal mackeral

It looks just like slimey mackerel that I used as live bait for Marlin in Australia. They look exactly the same as our regular macks except they have spots instead of stripes.

[chuckaroo]

did a bit more research, its all here:

Atlantic Mackerel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_mackerel
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... T=mackerel

Atlantic Chub Mackerel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atlantic_chub_mackerel
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Species ... ng=English

so there you have it, we can expect to catch 2 types of mackerel: the Atlantic Mackerel and the Atlantic Chub Mackerel.
The Atlantic mackerel seems to migrate to and from the north Atlantic into and out of Irish and UK waters and would be the more commonly caught species, whereas the Atlantic Chub mackerel seems to migrate to and from the Mediterranean and would be caught less often
everyday is a school day...
another species to add to the species count..?

probably plenty of people already aware of all this but its new to me..

Last edited by chuckaroo on Tue Sep 30, 2014 12:22 am, edited 1 time in total.

It looks just like slimey mackerel that I used as live bait for Marlin in Australia. They look exactly the same as our regular macks except they have spots instead of stripes.

and i remember catching mackerel on the west coast of Mexico to fish for marlin also. they looked almost identical to our mackerel, and i thought that they might be the same species, but it was probably the Pacific mackerel that i was catching, Scomber japonicus. Rob, you must have been catching Scomber australasicus.

basically, there are a lot of species around the world that look very similar to our Atlantic mackerel, but that are slightly different..

Telling the difference
- as described in Irish Sport Fishes: A guide to their identification, Central Fisheries Board, Ireland

ATLANTIC MACKEREL Scomber scombrus -
First dorsal fin well separated from main portion of second dorsal. Two small keels on each side at base of tail-fin. Back with characteristic wavy stripes (rarely with spots or scribblings); a line of longitudinal blotches below lateral line, but no spots or blotches on lower sides. Grows to about 6 lb. No swim-bladder.

ATLANTIC CHUB MACKEREL / SPANISH MACKEREL Scomber colias -
Generally similar to mackerel but with a larger head. Dorsals well separated; two small keels on each side at base of tail-fin. Scales in the pectoral region larger than elsewhere. Coloration much as in mackerel, but with dark spots or blotches on the lower sides. Grows to about 2 feet. Uncommon. Swim-bladder present.

Thanks for that booklet Donal Domeney, you posted it on another thread but i was able to find what i was looking for in it. Did you know of, or have you ever caught, these two different types of mackerel in our waters..?

I heard about them before but never caught one.

Chub mackerel are not that rare, I recall seeing them routeinly on sale in O'Donoghue's in Lahinch in my childhood.

thanks Kieran. And are you old...?
how long ago would that have been?

Coughs.... 70s and 80s... possibly early 90s. She departed and so did the box of fresh mackerel still with rigor mortis. Probably not allowed now with H&S but definitely remember seeing them and noticing the difference. I was told it was male and female!