Indian mackerel (Rastrelliger kanagurta) is a saltwater species recorded in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia. It is found at depths of 20–90 m. The main season in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia runs all year.
Scientific name: Rastrelliger kanagurta · Water: Saltwater · Season: All year
Size: up to 36 cm
The Indian mackerel is a scombrid that schools in coastal bays, harbours and deep lagoons, usually in slightly turbid, plankton-rich water. Its range is the Indo-West Pacific, from Durban in South Africa, the Red Sea and East Africa to Indonesia, north to the Ryukyu Islands and China and south to Australia, Melanesia, Samoa and Tokelau, and it has entered the eastern Mediterranean through the Suez Canal. Its feeding is distinctive: it filters phytoplankton such as diatoms and small zooplankton including cladocerans, ostracods and larval polychaetes, while adults also take larger plankton such as larval shrimps and fish. FishBase also records small groups eating the eggs of the wrasse Cheilio inermis straight after spawning. Commonly about 25 cm and up to 36 cm total length, maturing at about 21 cm and living 4 years. A top-priced fish, available all year.
Back to home · Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia · Species library