Scomber japonicus
Pacific Chub Mackerel
NS
G5
Collection Details
Specimens
Photos
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Records
Taxonomic Hierarchy
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned Fishes)
Perciformes (Perciformes, Also Called the Acanthopteri)
Scombridae (Mackerels)
Scomber
Scomber japonicus (Pacific Chub Mackerel)
Description
This species account was compiled from
FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2025. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version 04/2025.)
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Characters
Body shape: fusiform / normal. Interpelvic process small and single. No well developed corselet. Swim bladder present. First haemal spine posterior to first interneural process; 12 to 15 interneural bones under first dorsal fin. Anal fin spine conspicuous, clearly separated from anal rays but joined to them by a membrane. Back with narrow stripes which zigzag and undulate. Belly unmarked (Pacific population) or with wavy lines (Atlantic pop.) (Ref. 168). Caudal peduncle with 5 finlets on the upper and lower edge. Distance between dorsal fins shorter than or equal to the first dorsal fin base (Ref. 35388). Striking features: none.
Distribution
Indo-Pacific: anti-tropical, absent from the Indian Ocean except for South Africa, KZN to Western Cape (58304).
Reports from Atlantic incl. Mediterranean are Scomber colias, and from Red Sea and northern Indian Ocean are Scomber australasicus (Ref. 27328).
Habitat Associations
Marine. pelagic-neritic. depth range 0-300 m.
Biology
A coastal pelagic species, to a lesser extent epipelagic to mesopelagic over the continental slope (Ref. 168). Schooling by size is well developed and initiates at approximately 3 cm (Ref. 168); may also form schools with Sarda chiliensis, Trachurus symmetricus and Sardinops sagax (Ref. 9340). Adults stay near the bottom during the day; go up to the open water at night, (Ref. 5377) where they feed on copepods and other crustaceans, fishes and squids (Ref. 168). They spawn in batches (Ref. 51846). Eggs and larvae are pelagic (Ref. 6769). In Asian waters, they move to deeper water and remain inactive during the winter season (Ref. 4576). Commercially cultured in Japan. Marketed fresh, frozen, smoked, salted and occasionally canned (Ref. 9684). Eaten fried, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988). Used in Chinese medicine (Ref. 12166).
Max length: 64.0 cm TL; common length: 30.0 cm FL; max weight: 2900 g; max age: 18 years.
Reproductive mode: dioecism; fertilization: external; nonguarders (open water/substratum egg scatterers); parental care: none. Spawning most often occurs at water temperatures of 15° to 20°C. Spawn in several batches with 250 to 300 eggs per g of fish with the total number of eggs per female ranging from 100,000 to 400,000.
IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern (LC), assessed 2022-06-01. Resilience: Medium (K=0.12-0.22; tm=2-3; tmax=18).
Commercial or Environmental Importance
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish; aquaculture: commercial.
References
Collette, B.B. and C.E. Nauen (1983) FAO Species Catalogue. Vol. 2. Scombrids of the world. An annotated and illustrated catalogue of tunas, mackerels, bonitos and related species known to date. Rome: FAO. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(2):137 p.
Mendo, J.A. (1984) Edad, crecimiento y algunos aspectos reproductivos y alimentarios de la caballa (Scomber japonicus peruanus). Bol. Inst. Mar. Peru 8:101-156.
Anonymous (1994) U. S. GLOBEC - Global ocean ecosystems dynamics, a component of the U. S. Global Change Research Program. Eastern Boundary Current Program-A Science Plan for the California Current, Rep. No. 11, August.
Uyeno, T., K. Matsuura and E. Fujii (eds.) (1983) Fishes trawled off Suriname and French Guiana. Japan Marine Fishery Resource Research Center, Tokyo, Japan. 519 p.
Cervigón, F. (1994) Los peces marinos de Venezuela. Volume 3. Fundación Científica Los Roques, Caracas,Venezuela. 295 p.
Collette, B.B. (2003) Family Scombridae Rafinesque 1815 - mackerels, tunas, and bonitos. Calif. Acad. Sci. Annotated Checklists of Fishes (19):28.
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