The Japanese horse mackerel fish is a species of fish which is named after mackerel in family Carangidae. It is also known as Jack mackerel, Japanese scad and Maaji.
It is very important as a commercial fish in Japan. And the fish is caught using trawls, traps, purse seines and longlines.
Today it is distributed through southern Japan, Korean Peninsula to East China Sea.
nd the countries with the largest catches are Japan and Korea. Read some more information about this fish species below.
Japanese Horse Mackerel Fish Characteristics
The Japanese horse mackerel fish has elongated body which is fairly compressed. Their head is large. Posterior end of upper jaw extending posteriorly to below anterior margin of eye, and the lower jaw is projected.
The adipose eyelid is well developed. Small nostrils closely situated each other, anterior nostril oval and posterior nostril crescent. They are very similar to the yellowtail horse mackerel, apart from having more gill rakers and large eyes.
Body coloration of the Japanese horse mackerel fish is grayish blue dorsally and silvery white ventrally. The dorsal and pectoral fins are dusky, pelvic and anal fins are pale and the caudal fin is yellow.
Average body length of these fish is around 35 cm, with a maximum recorded length is 50 cm. Average live body weight of the mature fish is around 0.66 kg. Photo and info from FAO and Wikipedia.
Diet
The Japanese horse mackerel fish are feed mainly on small crustaceans as as copepods, small fish and shrimps.
Uses
The Japanese horse mackerel fish is utilized canned for human consumption. It is also used for making fishmeal.
Special Notes
The Japanese horse mackerel fish are generally found around the coast of Japan, apart from Okinawa Island. They are found generally on sandy bottoms of 50-275 m deep.
The adults occur on continental waters, and the juveniles associate with drifting seaweed. It is a pretty long lived fish, with and average lifespan of around 12 years.
However, review full breed profile of the Japanese horse mackerel fish in the table below.
| Name | Japanese Horse Mackerel |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Actinopterygii |
| Order | Perciformes |
| Family | Carangidae |
| Genus | Trachurus |
| Species | T. japonicus |
| Binomial Name | Trachurus japonicus |
| Other Names | Also known as Jack mackerel, Japanese scad and Maaji |
| Breed Purpose | Mainly food, also fishmeal |
| Special Notes | Economically important fish species, commercially catched in Japan, long lived fish with an average lifespan of 12 years, used mainly for food, also used for producing fishmeal |
| Weight | Around 0.66 kg |
| Breeding Method | Natural |
| Climate Tolerance | Native climates |
| Body Color | Grayish to silvery |
| Rarity | Common |
| Availability | Asia |
