Atlantic Mackerel
Atlantic Mackerel
Scomber scombrus
Quick Facts
About the Species
U.S. wild-caught Atlantic mackerel is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.
Population
Significantly below target population levels. A rebuilding plan is in place.
Fishing Rate
Reduced to end overfishing.
Habitat Impacts
Fishing gears used to harvest Atlantic mackerel have minimal impacts on habitat.
Bycatch
Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch.
Population Status
- According to the 2021 stock assessment, Atlantic mackerel is overfished and subject to overfishing. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
Appearance
- Atlantic mackerel are iridescent blue green on the back with a silvery white underbelly.
- They have 20 to 30 wavy black bars that run across the top half of their body, and a narrow dark streak that runs below these bars along each side.
- Their body is spindle-shaped, tapering at both ends.
- Their two large dorsal fins are gray or dusky. The pectoral fins are black or dusky at the base, and the tail fin is gray or dusky.
- Their distinctive coloring fades quickly after they die.
Biology
- Atlantic mackerel grow fast, up to 16 ½ inches and 2.2 pounds.
- They can live up to 20 years and are able to reproduce by the time they reach age 2 to 3.
- There are two major spawning groups of Atlantic mackerel in the western Atlantic:
- The southern group spawns primarily in the Mid-Atlantic Bight from April to May.
- The northern group spawns in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in June and July.
- Both groups typically spawn 10 to 30 miles off shore.
- Depending on their size, females can have between 285,000 and almost 2 million eggs. They release their eggs in batches, between five and seven times throughout the spawning season.
- Eggs generally float in the surface water and hatch in 4 to 7 ½ days, depending on water temperature.
- Atlantic mackerel feed heavily on crustaceans such as copepods, krill, and shrimp. They also eat squid, as well as some fish and ascidians (sac-like marine invertebrate filter feeders).
- Several species of fish and marine mammals eat Atlantic mackerel.
Where They Live
- Atlantic mackerel are found on both sides of the North Atlantic Ocean, including in the Baltic Sea. In the western Atlantic, they’re found from Labrador to North Carolina.
Fishery Management
- NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council manage the Atlantic mackerel fishery.
- Managed under the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan:
- Mackerel are managed in federal waters. There are no state management measures for mackerel.
- Managed using annual catch limits allocated between the commercial and recreational fisheries.
- Managers monitor commercial catch on a weekly basis and will close the fisheries if the limits are reached before the fishing season is over.
- Fishermen must have a permit to harvest Atlantic mackerel.
- Managers limit the amount of available permits to control harvests.
- Under a limited access program, permits are issued to qualifying fishermen, dividing fishermen into three tiers based on their past participation in the fishery. This program is designed to reduce the fishing capacity of the mackerel fleet while allowing qualified vessels to continue fishing for mackerel at their historical or recent level of participation.
Harvest
- Commercial fishery:
- In 2020, commercial landings of Atlantic mackerel totaled more than 17 million pounds and were valued at approximately $5 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database. Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Rhode Island harvested the majority.
- Commercial landings from 2004 to 2021 ranged from a high of 125 million pounds in 2006 to a low of 1.1 million pounds in 2011.
- The U.S. commercial fishery for Atlantic mackerel operates primarily between January and May in southern New England and Mid-Atlantic coastal waters and between May and December in the Gulf of Maine.
- Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
- Fishermen harvest mackerel in large volumes using mid-water trawls.
- Although mid-water trawls have minimal impact on habitat, they can incidentally catch marine mammals such as short- and long-finned pilot whales, Atlantic white-sided dolphins, and common dolphins.
- The Atlantic Trawl Gear Take Reduction Strategy provides measures to reduce potential impacts of bycatch. These include outreach to educate fishermen about actions to take in the event of a marine mammal interaction and efforts to communicate interaction hotspots to fishermen in real time. It also contains voluntary measures concerning fishing practices, such as reducing tow times and limiting turns while fishing.
- The mackerel fishery has some incidental catch of river herring and shad. A cap was established in 2014 to limit river herring and shad catch in the mackerel fishery.
- Recreational fishery:
- Mackerel are important to recreational fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions, with the highest landings occurring from Massachusetts and Maine.
- In 2020, recreational harvest of Atlantic mackerel totaled 4 million pounds, according to the NOAA Fisheries recreational fishing landings database.
- The recreational mackerel fishery is open all year, with a catch limit set annually at the same time as commercial limits.
Featured News
Commercial Fishing Regulations
Current Specifications
|
Specification |
Metric Tons (mt) |
|
U.S. ABC/Annual Catch Limit (ACL) |
19,184 |
|
Recreational Allocation |
1,270 |
|
Commercial Allocation |
17,914 |
|
Domestic Annual Harvest (DAH) |
17,312 |
Trip Limits
Permit Category |
Permit Type |
Possession |
|
Tier 1 |
Limited Access |
Unlimited |
|
Tier 2 |
Limited Access |
135,000 lb |
|
Tier 3 |
Limited Access |
100,000 lb |
| SMB 4 | Open Access | 20,000 lb |
Fish Size Limits
None.
Accountability Measures
|
|
When this percent of the quota is reached… |
The possession limit will be reduced to this amount for the remainder of the fishing year… |
|
Mackerel |
90% |
40,000 lb per trip for limited access permit holders 5,000 lb per trip for open access permit holders |
|
Tier 3 Mackerel Allocation |
90% |
20,000 lb per trip (for Tier 3 vessels only) |
|
Mackerel |
100% |
5,000 lb for all federal Atlantic mackerel permit holders |
| We may not implement these triggered possession limit reductions in November and December if landings are not projected to exceed the DAH by the end of the fishing year. | ||
| River Herring and Shad Catch Cap | When this amount catch cap is reached... | The possession limit will be reduced to this amount for the remainder of the fishing year... |
| 129 mt in 2020, 159 mt in 2021. | 20,000 lb for all Altantic mackerel permit holders |
Commercial overage repayment: If the mackerel ACL is exceeded by the commercial fishery, then the exact amount of the overage will be deducted from the commercial DAH as a single year adjustment between March 31 and May 1 of the following year.
Recreational overage repayment: If the recreational fishery landings are responsible for the overage, then landings in overage the RHL will be deducted from the RHL in the following year.
Non-landings overage repayment: If the mackerel ACL is exceeded, and the overage has not been accommodated through other landing-based accountability measures, but is attributable to either the commercial or recreational sector (such as research quota overages, dead discards in excess of those otherwise accounted for in management uncertainty, or other non-landing overages), then the exact amount, in pounds, by which the sector ACT was exceeded will be deducted from the following year.
Regulated, Closed, and Access Areas
Restricted Areas
Northeast multispecies regulations include four regulated mesh areas (RMAs) that regulate which gear can be used in each of the following areas: Gulf of Maine (GOM), Georges Bank (GB), Southern New England (SNE), and Mid-Atlantic (MA).
Exemption Areas
In these areas and fisheries Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish can be retained.
Exempted Areas within the GOM/GB RMAs |
Exempted Areas within the SNE RMA |
Exempted Areas within the MA RMA |
|
Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery EA*† |
SNE Exemption Area (includes part of GB RMA) |
Mid-Atlantic EA (includes part of SNE RMA) |
|
Small Mesh Areas 1 & 2† |
SNE Little Tunny Gillnet Exemption Area |
Mid-water trawl gear Exempted Fishery |
|
Raised Footrope Trawl Exempted Whiting Fishing Area*† |
* Requires a Letter of Authorization (LOA) to participate. LOAs can be obtained from the Greater Atlantic Region Permit Office at (978) 281-9370. † Atlantic mackerel, squid, and/or butterfish species are considered an incidentally caught species in these EAs. These EAs require the use of small mesh to target whiting. |
|
|
GOM Grate Raised Footrope Trawl Whiting Fishery EA† |
||
See the small mesh exemption information sheet for more information on retaining Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish in exempted fisheries.
A vessel fishing for mackerel, squid, and/or butterfish in federal waters must also comply with closed areas for other fisheries, including Northeast multispecies, unless using gear defined as not capable of catching Northeast multispecies. Exempted gear includes the following: Pelagic hook and line, pelagic longline, spears, rakes, diving gear, cast nets, tong, harpoons, weirs, dipnets, stop nets, pound nets, pelagic gillnets, pots and traps, shrimp trawls (with properly configured grates), and surfclam/ocean quahog dredges.
These include seasonal and year-round closures, Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) closures, and transiting/gear stowage requirements.
More information regarding multispecies regulations is available on the Northeast Multispecies page.
Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Restricted Areas
|
Oceanographer Canyon |
Lydonia Canyon |
Northern Scup Gear Restricted Area (GRA) |
Southern Scup Gear Restricted Area (GRA) |
|
January 1 – December 31 |
January 1 – December 31 |
November 1 – December 31 |
January 1 – March 15 |
|
Bottom trawl gear prohibited |
Bottom trawl gear prohibited |
Minimum mesh size of 5.0 inch diamond mesh |
Minimum mesh size of 5.0 inch diamond mesh |
|
Transit allowed if bottom trawl gear is stowed and not available for immediate use. |
Transit allowed if bottom trawl gear is stowed and not available for immediate use. |
Transit allowed if codends less than 5.0 inches are stowed and not available for immediate use. |
Transit allowed if codends less than 5.0 inches are stowed and not available for immediate use. |
Oceanographer Canyon Coordinates
|
N. Lat. |
W. Long. |
|
40°10.0' |
68°12.0' |
|
40°24.0' |
68°09.0' |
|
40°24.0' |
68°08.0' |
|
40°10.0' |
67°59.0' |
|
40°10.0' |
68°12.0' |
Lydonia Canyon Coordinates
|
N. Lat. |
W. Long. |
|
40°16.0' |
67°34.0' |
|
40°16.0' |
67°42.0' |
|
40°20.0' |
67°43.0' |
|
40°27.0' |
67°40.0' |
|
40°27.0' |
67°38.0' |
|
40°16.0' |
67°34.0' |
Scup Gear Restricted Areas (GRA)
|
Southern GRA |
|
Northern GRA |
||
|
N. lat. |
W. long. |
N. lat. |
W. long. |
|
|
39°20' |
72°53' |
41°00' |
71°00' |
|
|
39°20' |
72°28' |
41°00' |
71°30' |
|
|
38°00' |
73°58' |
40°00' |
72°40' |
|
|
37°00' |
74°43' |
40°00' |
72°05' |
|
|
36°30' |
74°43' |
41°00' |
71°00' |
|
|
36°30' |
75°03' |
|
|
|
|
37°00' |
75°03' |
|
|
|
|
38°00' |
74°23' |
|
|
|
|
39°20' |
72°53' |
|
|
|
Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Areas
Reporting A Commercial Catch
What are the requirements for slipped catch?
Vessels carrying an observer with a limited access Atlantic mackerel (Tier 1, 2, and 3) and/or a longfin squid/butterfish moratorium permit cannot slip their catch except for one of the following reasons: 1) safety concern; 2) mechanical failure, including gear damage; or 3) excessive catch of spiny dogfish. For vessels carrying an observer with a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit, if catch is slipped for one of the reasons listed above, the vessel operator must move and remain 15 nautical miles from where the slippage event occurred.
If the catch was slipped for any other reason, the vessel operator must immediately terminate the fishing trip and return to port. A slippage event can include the release of fish from a codend or seine prior to completion of pumping or the release of an entire catch or bag while the catch is still in the water. Vessels with a limited access Atlantic mackerel and/or a longfin squid limited access permit must complete, sign, and submit a Released Catch Affidavit following any slippage event.
Via the VMS, vessels must also complete the Atlantic mackerel and longfin squid daily catch report to report a slippage event. Vessels with a limited access Atlantic mackerel permit must complete the daily catch report at the time of the slippage event and before moving 15 nautical miles or returning to port.
Commercial Reporting
Catch Reporting and Vessel Trip Reports
Owner/operators participating in the Atlantic mackerel, Illex squid, and Longfin squid/butterfish must submit trip reports weekly. Reports must be postmarked or received by midnight of the Tuesday following the reporting week (Sunday through Saturday). If a trip starts in one week, and offloads in the next, it should be reported in the week the catch was offloaded. Copies of fishing log reports must be kept on board the vessel and available for review for at least 1 year, and must be retained for a total of 3 years after the date the fish were last possessed, landed, and sold.
Interactive Voice Response System Requirements
The Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish fisheries do not have any IVR requirements. However, if you are participating in a research program such as research set-aside (RSA) or fishing with an exempted fishing permit (EFP), there are IVR requirements. Please refer to your RSA or EFP paperwork for instruction on using IVR.
Vessel Monitoring System Requirements
The owner or operator of a vessel issued a limited access mackerel permit must report catch (retained and discarded) of mackerel daily via VMS. Daily mackerel VMS catch reports must be submitted in 24-hr intervals for each day and must be submitted by 0900 hr on the following day. Reports are required even if mackerel caught that day have not yet been landed.
Exempted Fishing
Fishing with Small-Mesh Bottom Trawl Gear
The Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan prohibits fishing with small-mesh bottom trawl gear, except seasonally in specific exemption areas. These exemption areas are described in the table and map below and indicate where and when vessels may fish with small-mesh bottom trawl gear.
Atlantic herring and Atlantic mackerel may be retained by vessels fishing with small-mesh bottom trawl gear in the exemption areas, provided vessels comply with all season, area, and gear requirements, possession limits, and are issued a whiting (Category K Open Access Northeast Multispecies) permit or a limited access Northeast multispecies permit. Specific requirements for each area can be found on the linked webpages within the table below. River herring and shad may not be retained when fishing with small-mesh bottom trawl gear in these exemption areas, with the exception that alewife may be retained in the Gulf of Maine Grate Raised Footrope Trawl Exemption Area.
A Letter of Authorization (LOA) is required to participate in some of these exemption areas. Permits and LOAs can be obtained from our Permits Office at (978) 282-8438, or online by visiting our Forms and Applications webpage. If you have questions about these exemption areas, please call the Sustainable Fisheries Division at (978) 281-9315.
Small-Mesh Exemption Areas
| Area Name | Season | LOA Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Gulf of Maine Grate Raised Footrope Trawl Whiting Fishery Exemption Area | July 1 - November 30 | No |
| Cultivator Shoal Whiting Fishery Exemption Area | June 15 - October 31 | Yes |
| Small-Mesh Exemption Areas 1 & 2 |
Small-Mesh Area 1: July 15 - November 15 Small-Mesh Area 2: January 1 - June 30 |
No |
| Raised Footrope Trawl Exempted Whiting Fishery Areas (Cape Cod) | September 1 - November 20 | Yes |
