Description:
color of back iridescent bluish green; sides silvery,
streamlined body with tapered head; no black pigment on
front of dorsal fin; lateral line starts high and drops
sharply below the second dorsal fin; young fish often have
yellow spots like those of the Spanish mackerel.
Similar Fish:
cero, S. regalis; Spanish mackerel, S. maculatus.
Where found:
NEARSHORE and OFFSHORE, occasionally taken from piers
running into deep water.
Size:
common to 20 pounds.
*Florida
Record: 90 lbs.
Remarks:
schooling fish that migrates fom south Florida waters in
winter to more northerly waters in spring; Gulf population
thought to be separate from Atlantic population, with
considerable mixing in winter from Cape Canaveral past Key
West; spawns in midsummer OFFSHORE; feeds on small fish and
squid.
* The
Florida records quoted are from the Department of
Environmental Protection's printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The
records are provided as only as a benchmark.
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