flesh of very important usually small (to 18 in) fatty Atlantic fish
<noun.food>
any of various fishes of the family Scombridae
<noun.animal>
Mackerel \Mack"er*el\, n. [OF. maquerel, F. maquereau, fr. D. makelaar mediator, agent, fr. makelen to act as agent.] A pimp; also, a bawd. [Obs.] --Halliwell.
Mackerel \Mack`er*el\, n. [OF. maquerel, F. maquereau (LL. macarellus), prob. for maclereau, fr. L. macula a spot, in allusion to the markings on the fish. See {Mail} armor.] (Zo["o]l.) Any species of the genus {Scomber} of the family {Scombridae}, and of several related genera. They are finely formed and very active oceanic fishes. Most of them are highly prized for food.
Note: The common mackerel ({Scomber scombrus}), which inhabits both sides of the North Atlantic, is one of the most important food fishes. It is mottled with green and blue. The Spanish mackerel ({Scomberomorus maculatus}), of the American coast, is covered with bright yellow circular spots.
{Bull mackerel}, {Chub mackerel}. (Zo["o]l.) See under {Chub}.
{Frigate mackerel}. See under {Frigate}.
{Horse mackerel} . See under {Horse}.
{Mackerel bird} (Zo["o]l.), the wryneck; -- so called because it arrives in England at the time when mackerel are in season.
{Mackerel cock} (Zo["o]l.), the Manx shearwater; -- so called because it precedes the appearance of the mackerel on the east coast of Ireland.
{Mackerel guide}. (Zo["o]l.) See {Garfish} (a) .
{Mackerel gull} (Zo["o]l.) any one of several species of gull which feed upon or follow mackerel, as the kittiwake.
{Mackerel midge} (Zo["o]l.), a very small oceanic gadoid fish of the North Atlantic. It is about an inch and a half long and has four barbels on the upper jaw. It is now considered the young of the genus {Onos}, or {Motella}.
{Mackerel plow}, an instrument for creasing the sides of lean mackerel to improve their appearance. --Knight.
{Mackerel shark} (Zo["o]l.), the porbeagle.
{Mackerel sky}, or {Mackerel-back sky}, a sky flecked with small white clouds; a cirro-cumulus. See {Cloud}.
Mackerel sky and mare's-tails Make tall ships carry low sails. --Old Rhyme.
Last week, a Peruvian judge issued a restraining order indefinitely suspending a three-year Soviet-Peruvian accord, which permits 20 Soviet trawlers to annually catch 400,000 tons of mainly mackerel and Pacific hake inside Peru's 200-mile limit.
Some experts theorize the whales' return to Stellwagen is linked to heavy commercial fishing of mackerel and herring, which eat sand lances.
"I looked at the numbers and said, `Holy mackerel!"' said transportation engineer Chuck Pivetti. "Ten years ago, all the top spots would have been in New York, New Jersey and Chicago.
In an interview at his nearby Biddeford home, the 64-year-old retired Navy man said he made a string of mackerel flies to give the president over the weekend while Bush is at his oceanfront home.
'What?' he said, three times. Supper was brought to us on large metal trays and we ate communally by the light of oil lamps made from old mackerel tins.
At that time, the tab for Olga's fresh-frozen mackerel and herring diet _ 60 pounds a day _ was $13,000 a year.
Forget the lighter herbs, such as tarragon and chervil, but use plenty of marjoram and oregano with chicken and oily fish such as bass or mackerel. Shred basil on to meat or fish after it has been grilled.
But if this applies to whales, why not also to mackerel? Humans have always given different values to different forms of wildlife. Unfortunately, the attribution of these values is entirely anthropomorphic and has nothing to do with objective standards.
'There is nothing wrong with mackerel,' she said.
'It's a nice example of how well-timed management action can help,' says Shepherd. Some stocks, such as western mackerel in the North Sea, never recover from over-fishing.