Chilean Jack Mackerel

Body elongated and little compressed; teeth small and uniseriate; lower branch of first gill arch with 42 to 45 gill rakers; edge of shoulders girdle (cleithrum) with a small furrow at its upper end but lacking papillae; lateral line completely scaled, the scales becoming large scutes posteriorly; scutes in the area of the median curve 1.1 to 1.6 times the diameter of the eye; nape and back metallic blue or dark gray; flanks and belly pale; dorsal edge of operculum with a black stain (Ref. 55763). Body elongate and slightly compressed. Body dark blue dorsally, silvery-white ventrally. Black spot on upper posterior margin of opercle. Fins dusky (Ref. 37339). Pectoral fin falcate and very long (Ref. 27363).

Caligus Infestation 2. Parasitic infestations (protozoa, worms, etc.)

Oceanodromous. Migrating within oceans typically between spawning and different feeding areas, as tunas do. Migrations should be cyclical and predictable and cover more than 100 km.

Dorsal spines (total): 9; Dorsal soft rays (total): 31 - 35; Analspines: 3; Analsoft rays: 27 - 29

Occurs in inshore waters of the continental shelf (Ref. 75154). Feeds on zooplankton, fish, ostracods, polychaetes and euphausiids (Ref. 26956).

Adults are found in the shore and open oceanic waters, in schools. They feed mainly on fish larvae and small crustaceans. Marketed fresh (Ref. 9283). Utilized canned for human consumption and also made into fishmeal (Ref. 9988). The species is often found in Juan Fernández Is. as an incidental catch of Pseudocaranx chilensis (Guichenot, 1848) fisheries (Ref. 89357).

fisheries: highly commercial; price category: medium; price reliability: reliable: based on ex-vessel price for this species