Cat coat genetics basic pattern of stripes that underlies the coat. The basic wild-type tabby gene, "Mc", produces what is called a "mackerel striped" tabby (stripes look like thin fishbones and may break up into bars or spots), while a recessive mutant, "mc", produces a blotched or "classic" tabby pattern (broad bands, whorls, and spirals of dark color on pale background usually with bulls-eye or oyster pattern on flank). The classic tabby is most common in Iran, Great Britain and in lands that were once part of the British Empire and Persian Empire. The gene responsible for this differential patterning has been identified
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.