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
Atka mackerel the Aleutians) from July to September. Their eggs adhere to crevices in the rocks, and incubate for 40–45 days. Males guard the clutches of eggs until they hatch. Atka mackerel feed on copepods and euphausiids. They are, in turn, preyed upon by several species, such as the coho salmon and the Steller sea lion. Atka mackerel are used as food in the Aleutian chain, and can be caught as game fish. American ichthyologist David Starr Jordan wrote about fishing for Atka mackerel on May 28, 1892 in "American Food and Game Fishes": Atka mackerel The Atka mackerel ("Pleurogrammus monopterygius") is