Mackerel

“ The mackerel is not unlike his enemy, man, in his curiosity concerning the significance of a bright light in the dark. Shrewd shopkeepers, who are after gudgeons of the human sort, have worked on this failing of the human family so that by night some of our city streets blaze with every variety of electric fire. The mackerel fisherman Page 325gets after his prey in much the same fashion. When at night the lookout catches sight of the phosphorescent gleams in the water that tells of the restless activity beneath of a great school of fish the schooner is headed straightway for the spot. ”

“ Once more, my boy, does this standard national martial organization find itself on the right side of Awlkuyet River, and many a sensitive Mackerel, as he gazes through his tear-dimmed spectacles upon the surrounding scenery of his youth, fancies himself a boy again, and newly experiences in all his muscles that tingling sensation which, in the full-blooded lad, equally follows a public compliment and a private flogging. ”

“ It is in the early season, when they have least roe, that the flesh of this fish is in highest perfection. There is also an after-season, when a few fine large mackerel are taken, (i. e. during the herring season, about October,) which some piscivorous epicures are very partial to; these fish having had time to fatten and recover their health, are full of high flavour, and their flesh is firm and juicy: they are commonly called silver mackerel, from their beautiful appearance, their colour being almost as bright when boiled as it was the moment they were caught.
Mackerel broiled.— (No. 169.) ”

“ Youths, you're yelept youth's youngest; yet you'll
Zestless zig-zaggers zanyable zealed.
I exhibited that pleasing little poem to a Mackerel chap, who stuttered, my boy; and he came so near going into apoplexy through his endeavors to read it, that I was obliged to make a joke, in order that he might smile, relax, and recover.
And now let your mind fly, like a wearied dove, to the celebrated Arcadian scenes of festive Accomac, where the Mackerel Brigade continues to reconnoitre in force, and awaits the death of the Confederacy by old age. ”

“ A single female may contain as many as 200,000 eggs; and during the summer of 1896 24,000,000 mackerel eggs were artificially hatched by the United States Fish Commission.
There are only a few species of mackerel, but these are widely distributed and everywhere highly valued as food. The flesh, especially of the common species, is excellent when eaten fresh, and is salted in very great quantities. The mackerel fisheries (see Fisheries) are among the most important in both Europe and America. ”

“ MACKEREL, pelagic fishes, belonging to a small family, Scombridae, of which the tunny, bonito, albacore, and a few other tropical genera are members. Although the species are fewer in number than in most other families of fishes, they are widely spread and extremely abundant, peopling by countless schools the oceans of the tropical and temperate zones, and approaching the coasts only accidentally, occasionally, or periodically. ”

“ The mackerel most esteemed as food is the common species, and individuals from 10 to 12 in. in length are considered the best flavoured. In more southern latitudes, however, this species seems to deteriorate, specimens from the coast of Portugal, and from the Mediterranean and Black Sea, being stated to be dry and resembling in flavour the Spanish mackerel (S. colias) , which is not esteemed for the table. ”

“ Their movements can be easily followed. They are great wanderers and are abundant sometimes in one section, sometimes in another. The food of these fishes consists largely of small crustaceans. The different kinds of invertebrates upon which the mackerel feed are known as "Cayenne" and "red-seed." When full-grown they average about eighteen inches in length. Sea birds will gather over a school of mackerel and indicate its presence. Porpoises, sharks, blue-fish, and cod also prey upon them.
The Spanish Mackerel is a midsummer fish, disappearing in the autumn. ”

“ The average length is about 12 inches, such a fish weighing about a pound. Occasionally one finds a specimen 20 inches in length with a weight of 3 to 4 pounds. Maturity is reached about the fourth year. Young mackerel are variously called ‘spikes,’ ‘blinkers,’ and ‘tinkers,’ according to their size. The mackerel appear along the coast in spring in immense schools, often estimated to contain hundreds of thousands of barrels, wandering widely and voraciously feeding upon anything smaller than themselves, mainly young fishes ”

“ They now begin to disappear from the coasts and return to the open sea. Single individuals or small companies are found, however, on the coast all the year round; they may have become detached from the main bodies, and be seeking for the larger schools which have long left on their return migration.
Although, on the whole, the course and time of the annual migration of mackerel are marked with great regularity, their appearance and abundance at certain localities are subject to great variations. ”

“ The mackerel season is one of great interest on the coast, where these beautiful fish are caught. The going out and coming in of the boats are really “sights.” The prices of mackerel vary according to the different degrees of success. In 1807, the first Brighton boat of mackerel, on the 14th of May, sold at Billingsgate, for forty guineas per hundred, seven shillings each, the highest price ever known at that market. The next boat that came in reduced their value to thirteen guineas per hundred. In 1808, these fish were caught so plentifully at Dover, that they sold sixty for a shilling. ”

“ The principal Mackerel fisheries are on the Devon and Cornwall coasts, the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts, and on those of Kent and Sussex. The London market is principally supplied from the latter. In the French fisheries a great number of the Mackerel taken are salted; and a few are so treated in Cornwall, and in the south and west of Ireland; but in this country, generally, this fish is consumed in a fresh state. It is, however, one of those species which are peculiarly liable to rapid decomposition, in which state it is said to be not only offensive, but scarcely less than poisonous. ”

“ No other fish shows finer proportions in the shape of its body. Every “line” of its build is designed and eminently adapted for rapid progression through the water; the muscles massed along the vertebral column are enormously developed, especially on the back and the sides of the tail, and impart to the body a certain rigidity which interferes with abruptly sideward motions of the fish. Therefore mackerel generally swim in a straightforward direction, deviating sidewards only when compelled, and rarely turning about in the same spot. ”

“ This film may be observed by any one who takes the trouble of looking at the eye of the mackerel.
I have looked into every book on natural history I could get hold of, and in none is the slightest notice taken of this; therefore I suppose my conclusion as to its blindness is wrong; but I do not consider this to be conclusive, as all we can learn from books is, "Scomber is the mackerel genus, and is too well known to require description." I believe less is known about fish than any other animals ”

“ Plate XXXII.—Fishing for Mackerel off the Cornwall Coast.
As mackerel are very voracious, they greedily devour all sorts of [601] bait, but they are chiefly taken by the drift-net. The drift-net is twenty feet deep and a hundred and twenty feet long, well buoyed at the upper edge, but without weights at the bottom. The meshes, made of fine twine tarred to a reddish colour for preservation, are calculated to admit the head of the fish and catch it by the gills, so as to prevent its withdrawal. ”

“ Mackerel, like other marine fishes, birds, and mammals of prey, follow the shoals of young and adult Clupeoids in their periodical migrations; on the British coasts it is principally the fry of the Pilchard and Sprat which wanders from the open sea towards the coast, and guides the movements of the Mackerel.
[44] The systematic affinities of these extinct genera are very obscure. Cope places them, with others (for instance Protosphyræna, which has a sword-like prolongation of the ethmoid) , in a distinct family, Saurodontidæ: see “Vertebrata of the Cretaceous Formations of the West,” 1875. ”

“ Fry the whiting in very hot salad oil, instead of lard, of a very light brown colour; dish it on a napkin, garnish with fried parsley, and serve shrimp sauce in a boat.
No. 303. Mackerel.
The mackerel is a useful fish, and makes its appearance upon the tables of all classes; for whilst its delicious flavour makes it a favourite of the rich, its cheapness frequently renders it economical food for the poor. To plain boil them put them in boiling salt and water, let them simmer twenty minutes or half an hour, according to the size ”

“ The question was not with regard to the strength of the net, it was rather with regard to the strength of the younger lads; for they had succeeded in enclosing a goodly portion of a large shoal of mackerel, and the weight seemed more than they could get into the boat. But even the strength of the younger ones seemed to grow into the strength of giants when they saw through the clear water a great moving mass like quicksilver. And then the wild excitement of hauling in; the difficulty of it; the danger of the fish escaping; the warning cries of Rob; the clatter made by the mackerel ”

“ If it have a transparent, silvery hue, the flesh is good; but if it be red about the head, it is stale.
FILLETS OF MACKEREL. 282. INGREDIENTS.—2 large mackerel, 1 oz. butter, 1 small bunch of chopped herbs, 3 tablespoonfuls of medium stock, No. 105, 3 tablespoonfuls of béchamel (see Sauces) ; salt, cayenne, and lemon-juice to taste.
Mode.—Clean the fish, and fillet it; scald the herbs, chop them fine, and put them with the butter and stock into a stewpan. Lay in the mackerel, and simmer very gently for 10 minutes; take them out, and put them on a hot dish. ”

“ The lines are trailed astern of the boat as it sails up and down, where the mackerel are believed to be. When well on the feed they will bite, even at the pipe clay and bare hook, faster than they can be hauled inboard. River anglers and even some sea fishers are disposed to deny the amount of skill, alertness and knowledge which go to catching the greatest possible number of fish while they are up. It is often said that the mackerel allows itself to be caught as easily by a beginner as by an old hand. ”

“ The fish to which the name horse-mackerel is applied in Great Britain is Caranx trachurus, distinguished by having the lateral line in its whole length armed with large but narrow bony plates. Horse-mackerel are found singly on the coast all the year round, but sometimes they congregate in shoals of many thousands. Although well-flavoured, they are much more frequently used for bait than for food. ”

“ The mackerel possesses phosphorescent properties which cause it to shine in the dark, especially after death, when decomposition has commenced.
The mackerel is not only voracious, but, in spite of its small size, it has the hardihood to attack fishes much larger and much stronger than itself. It is even said that they love human flesh. According to the naturalist bishop, Pontoppidan, who lived in the sixteenth century, a sailor belonging to a vessel which had cast anchor in one of the Norwegian ports, when bathing one day in the sea, was assailed by a shoal of mackerel. ”

“ Few if any mackerel spawn south of Cape Cod.
By the time this migration occurs, the young fish have grown to six or seven inches in length, and are called "tinkers." They frequently take the bait with avidity, but are too small for market. When this school comes along, the fishermen prepare to follow, saying, "The mackerel are bound west, and we must work west with them." These first-comers are usually followed by a second school of better size and quality. ”

“ It is also found on the coasts of Ireland and Scotland, where it is called stock-fish, and is often confounded with cod.{453}
THE MACKEREL, (Scomber Scomber,)
Is taken and well known in all parts of the world. It is usually about a foot or more in length; the body is thick, firm, and fleshy, slender towards the tail; the snout sharp, the tail forked, the back of a lovely green, beautifully variegated, or, as it were, painted with black strokes; the under part of the body is of a silvery colour, reflecting, as well as the sides, the most elegant tints of the opal and the mother-of-pearl. ”

“ Mackerel will bite at any very small object, almost, that they can see, and sometimes fishermen fasten a small silver coin to their hooks, which will do duty as bait for days. They wish to catch as many fish as they possibly can, while they are biting, for mackerel are very notional. Sometimes they will bite so fast as to tire their captors, and, ten minutes after, not one can be felt or seen. Usually, they can be caught best in the morning and toward evening. I suppose they have but two meals a day, breakfast and supper, going without their dinner. ”

“ It is established without question that the habits and instincts of mackerel are the same that they were three hundred years ago, and that during all these years they sought the same spawning grounds and resented interference with their progress toward them by making a detour. In this detour lies the secret of the erroneous idea that "the mackerel are leaving the coast." They are not. They will reach their spawning grounds, no matter how far they swim; and, when they are near to them, nets, of whatever construction, can not deter their progress. ”

“ It is known that this fish is now taken, even on some parts of our own coast, in every month of the year. It is probable that the Mackerel inhabits almost the whole of the European seas; and the law of Nature, which obliges them and many others to visit the shallower water of the shores at a particular season, appears to be one of those wise and bountiful provisions of the Creator, by which, not only is the species perpetuated with the greatest certainty, but a large portion of the parent animals are thus brought within the reach of man ”