January 2004 Guess The Fish Contest Answer & Winner The Atlantic Mackerel or Boston Mackerel as it is sometimes referred to, occurs in the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. In the western Atlantic it is found roughly from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Cape Hatteras. The mackerels scales are so small the skin feels velvety to the touch. Maximum size is about 25 inches and 36 pounds. Most adults range from 13"-18". A 12" mackerel weighs about 12 - 16 ounces.They spawn off the Atlantic Coast from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Peak season in Massachusetts Bay is late May and June. The fish do not seek a particular ground but shed their eggs when ripe, wherever a school happens to be.The eggs float with a large oil globule. The mack grows rapidly and reaches 12' -16" when 2 years old. At 2 , it reproduces for the first time. It schools according to size groups. During the fishing season it appears most abundant over the inner third or half of the continental shelf. Smaller/younger specimens do stray closer to shore line than adults do. During the winter the macks cluster in a narrow band of warm water flanking the edge off the shelf from Cape Hatteras to the easterly end of the Georges Bank, where they probably occupy mid depths and feed on plankton. During spring, summer and fall, macks stay above the thermocline. Southern and northern contigents of fish perform different spring migrations, occupy differenmt areas in the summer, and leave the coastal waters by different routes in the fall. Young macks feed on plankton, and fish eggs. Later they eat shrimps, crab larve, and similar organisms. Macks feed either by filtering out the smaller plankton organisims from the water, using their long gillrakers, or by gulping down their prey on sight! Larger macks also consume, squids, and fishes such as herrings, silversides, and lances apparently eating little in the winter as they emerge thinner in the spring. This month's winner is Eddie Radden from Sicklerville, NJ.