Mackerel fish, sometimes indicating the fish has vertical stripes similar to a scombroid mackerel: By extension, the term is applied also to other species such as the mackerel tabby cat, and to inanimate objects such as the altocumulus mackerel sky cloud formation. Most mackerel belong to the family Scombridae, which also includes tuna and bonito. Generally mackerel are much smaller and slimmer than tuna, though in other respects they share many common characteristics. Their scales, if present at all, are extremely small. Like tuna and bonito, mackerel are voracious feeders, and are swift and manoeuvrable swimmers, able to streamline themselves by
Mackerel for about 75% of the total catch of scombroid mackerels. Chilean jack mackerel are the most commonly fished non-scombroid mackerel, fished as heavily as chub mackerel (see second graph on the right). The species has been overfished, and its fishery may now be in danger of collapsing. Smaller mackerel behave like herrings, and are captured in similar ways. Fish species like these, which school near the surface, can be caught efficiently by purse seining. Huge purse seiner vessels use spotter planes to locate the schooling fish. Then they close in using sophisticated sonar to track the shape of the shoal.