Atlantic mackerel
Scientific name: Scomber scombrus Linnaeus, 1758
Overview
The Atlantic mackerel, also known as Boston mackerel, Norwegian mackerel, Scottish mackerel or just mackerel, is a species of mackerel found in the temperate waters of the Mediterranean Sea, the Black Sea, and the northern Atlantic Ocean, where it is extremely common and occurs in huge shoals in the epipelagic zone down to about 200 m (660 ft). It spends the warmer months close to shore and near the ocean surface, appearing along the coast in spring and departing with the arrival of colder weather in the fall and winter months. During the fall and winter, it migrates out into deeper and more southern water, seeking warmer temperatures.
From the Wikipedia article “Atlantic mackerel”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Conservation status
Least concern on the IUCN Red List, as recorded on Wikidata, citing The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2022.2.
Common names
Also known in English as Joey, mackerel, Split.
Names in other languages (11)
- Arabic
- إسقمري معروف, الإسقُمريّ المعروف, الطَرَاخور المعروف
- Chinese
- 鯖魚
- French
- maquereau, maquereau bleu, maquereau commun
- German
- Atlantische Makrele, Makrele
- Indonesian
- Ikan kembung
- Japanese
- タイセイヨウサバ
- Persian
- اسقمری اطلس
- Portuguese
- cavala, sarda
- Russian
- makrel, skumbriya, атлантическая скумбрия, Скумбрия атлантическая
- Spanish
- caballa, Caballa del Atlántico, Maquereau Bleu, Verdel
- Turkish
- uskumru
Related animals
Sources
-
Catalogue of Life — scientific name, classification, common names.
Version 2026-09-11, CC BY 4.0.
This species in the Catalogue of Life.
Citation
Bánki, O., Roskov, Y., Döring, M., Ower, G., Hernández Robles, D. R., Plata Corredor, C. A., Stjernegaard Jeppesen, T., Örn, A., Pape, T., Hobern, D., Garnett, S., Little, H., DeWalt, R. E., Miller, J., Orrell, T., Aalbu, R., Abbott, J., Aedo, C., Aescht, E., et al. (2026). Catalogue of Life (Version 2026-09-11). Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgz5n Source database: FishBase.
- GBIF — species page and recorded occurrences.
- Wikidata — conservation status, names in other languages. Q30153, CC0 1.0.
- Wikipedia — overview, from the article “Atlantic mackerel”, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Photo — Hans Hillewaert, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. File page.
Last updated: 4 October 2026