Description: color of back
iridescent bluish green; sides silvery, yellow spots forming lines above
and below a bronze stripe from pectoral fin to base of tail; front of
first dorsal fin is bluish black; lateral line curves gradually to base of
caudal fin.
Similar Fish: Spanish
mackerel, S. maculatus; king mackerel, S. cavalla (only the
cero has the yellow-brown stripes from the pectoral to caudal fin).
Where found: NEARSHORE
and OFFSHORE fish occurring mainly in south Florida, especially over coral
reefs and wrecks.
Size: common to 5 pounds.
*Florida Record: 15 lbs.,
8 ozs.
Remarks: unlike other
mackerels, does not stray far from south Florida waters; spawns OFFSHORE
in midsummer; feeds on small fish and squid.
* The Florida records
quoted are from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's
printed publication, Fishing
Lines and are not necessarily the most current ones. The records are
provided as only as a benchmark.
