Spanish mackerel are targeted by recreational and commercial operators fishing in coastal pelagic areas. Spanish mackerel are landed with cast nets, handline, and midwater gillnet gears. In the Gulf of Mexico, Spanish mackerel are captured with handline and midwater gillnet gears.
Spanish mackerel are confined to warm tropical and subtropical waters and are distributed along the East Coast of the United States and through the Gulf of Mexico.
Spanish mackerel otoliths (sagittae) are small, elongate, laterally compressed, and have an indented sulcus on the medial side. The rostrum and anti-rostrum are easily distinguishable and extremely fragile due to their small size and the overall thinness of the entire otolith.
Spanish mackerel typically reach sexual maturity in their first year (male) or second year (female), and also exhibit high levels of fecundity. The fish can live for nine years with females growing faster than males.
Maximum size is about 77 cm fork length and 4.8 kg weight (Beardsley & Richards, 1970). Females grow larger than males. The all-tackle angling record 1b a 4.02 kg fish with a fork length of 83 cm taken at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina in June 1982. In Florida, females attain sexual maturity between 25 and 37 cm fork length, males between 28 and 34 cm.
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