Mackerel is also called Scomberomorus niphonius (sturgeon), mackerel family, mackerel body long and flattened, body color silver, back with dark stripes or black and blue spots, large mouth, snout points, sharp teeth, swimming fast, fierce temperament, general body length of 260-520 mm, large up to 1 meter, weigh more than 20 kg, distributed in the western North Pacific Ocean, the East China Sea, the Yellow Sea, the Bohai Sea are produced [1]. It is a warm-water pelagic fish that often migrates remotely in groups. Feeding on small fish in the middle and pelagics, migrating in groups in summer and autumn, some of them enter the Bohai Sea to spawn, and in autumn floods, they often feed in groups near coastal islands and reefs, making it one of the northern economic fish.
Appearance characteristics
Species profiles
The fish is long and flattened, silvery in color, with dark stripes or black and blue spots on the back, a large mouth, a sharp snout, sharp teeth, fast swimming, and a fierce temperament. The specimen of "Mackerel King" in Dalian Natural History Museum weighs more than 260 kilograms, 2.64 meters, and is more than 20 years old.
Morphological characteristics
The body is long and flattened, spindle-shaped, generally 25 to 50 cm long, weigh 300 to 1000 grams, and the largest individual can reach 1 meter long and weigh more than 4.5 kg. The caudal stalk is thin , with 3 raised ridges on each side , with a central ridge long and highest. The head grows taller than the body. The mouth is large, slightly oblique, sharp and large, and sparsely arranged. The body is covered with small round scales and the lateral lines are irregularly wavy. There are black round spots in the center of the body. There are 2 dorsal fins, the first dorsal fin is long, with 19 to 20 fin spines, the second dorsal fin is shorter, and there are 8 to 9 small fins after the dorsal fin and fin; the pectoral fin and ventral fin are short and small without hard spines; the caudal fin is large and deeply forked.
Habits of life
The main fishing grounds for mackerel are in Zhoushan, Lianyungang off the coast and southeast shandong, with spring floods from April to June, autumn floods from July to October, and full fishing seasons from May to June. Fishing methods include drift-nets, mid-deck trawls on wheels and hook fishing. In the resource-rich 1950s and 1960s, The Bohai Bay from May to June was a good season for catching mackerel, the sun touched the mountain before the downward net, the net floated, the standard mang stretched for more than ten miles, the next morning, there were often three or four thousand tails, weighing three or four kilograms of gratifying harvest. Mackerel is fierce, often cruising in the shallow water on the shore to chase food from June to mid-October every year, its streamlined body, extremely high swimming speed, sharp teeth, like a cheetah chasing prey, frightened small fish fleeing around, often panic and rush to the shore reef "row", surprised by the spectacular scene of mackerel flying to prey. At this time, anglers are tireless, and the reef and portsides "throw mackerel" and look forward to being hooked. Mackerel is large, eats hooks quickly, and the fishing sensation is quite exciting, making it a great pleasure for anglers.
It is found in the western North Pacific. It is produced in china in the East China Sea, Yellow Sea and Bohai Sea. The main fishing grounds are Zhoushan, lianyungang off the coast and the southern coast of Shandong. Spring floods are held from April to June, autumn floods from July to October, and peak seasons from May to June.
Subspecies differentiation
There are two types of mackerel: the former is smaller, about 25 cm, and the latter is more than 40 to 50 cm. At present, the "swallow mackerel" sold on the market has fewer spines and better meat quality, but the output is also a little less than that of "Taiwan mackerel". As a result, "yan mackerel" with fewer thorns is more suitable as an ingredient for cooking fillings, and "Tai Mackerel" is more suitable for cooking with braised or boiled. Of course, "yan mackerel" is also quite delicious for braising and boiling.
Due to its feeding on aquatic animals such as fish and shrimp, the mackerel is full of fat and is a high-quality fish with high economic value. Mackerel meat is delicate, delicious taste, rich in nutrition, rich in protein, vitamin A, minerals and other nutrients, has the effect of tonifying qi, flat cough, has a certain effect on weak cough and asthma, mackerel also has refreshing and anti-aging and other dietary therapeutic functions.
Edible value
Mackerel meat is more prickly, delicious, nutritious, and the meat is firm and tight, awl-shaped, probably related to its fast swimming. In addition to fresh food, it can also be processed to make canned and salty dried products. Qingdao people like to make smoked fish, mackerel is the best choice, the unique flavor of smoked mackerel, is a delicious dish to accompany the wine and rice. Each 100 grams of meat contains more than 19 grams of protein and 2.5 grams of fat, and the meat is solid and delicious, and it is rich in nutrition. Its liver is the raw material for refining cod liver oil. The blue-spotted mackerel is an export variety, its English name is Japanese spanish mack-erel, and its Japanese name is サヮラ. Exports to countries and regions: Japan, Hong Kong, Macau. Export ports: Liaoning, Hebei, Dalian, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Fujian.
Medicinal value
Chinese medicine believes that mackerel has the effect of tonifying qi and calming cough, and has a certain effect on weak cough and asthma.
Mackerel also has therapeutic properties such as refreshing and anti-aging. Regular food will have a certain auxiliary effect on the treatment of anemia, premature aging, malnutrition, postpartum weakness and neurasthenia.
Suitable for people
It can be consumed by the average person, especially for people with weak cough and asthma, anemia, premature aging, malnutrition, postpartum weakness and neurasthenia.