THE MACKEREL, (Scomber Scomber,)
Is taken and well known in all parts of the world. It is usually about a foot or more in length; the body is thick, firm, and fleshy, slender towards the tail; the snout sharp, the tail forked, the back of a lovely green, beautifully variegated, or, as it were, painted with black strokes; the under part of the body is of a silvery colour, reflecting, as well as the sides, the most elegant tints of the opal and the mother-of-pearl. Nothing can be more interesting and pleasing to the eye than to see Mackerel, just caught, brought on shore by the fishermen, and spread, with all their radiancy, upon the pebbles of the beach, at the first rays of the rising sun; but when taken out of their element, they quickly die.
Mackerel visit our shores in vast shoals; but, from being very tender and unfit for long carriage, they are found less useful than other gregarious fish. The usual bait is a bit of red cloth, or a piece of the tail of the Mackerel. The great fishery for them is in some parts of the south and west coasts of England: this is of such an extent as to employ, in the whole, a capital of nearly two hundred thousand pounds. The fishermen go out to the distance of several leagues from the shore, and stretch their nets, which are sometimes miles in extent, across the tide during the night. A single boat has been known to bring in, after one night’s fishing, a cargo that has been sold for nearly seventy pounds. The roes of the Mackerel are used in the Mediterranean for caviar. In Cornwall, and also in several parts of the continent, Mackerel are preserved by pickling and salting; and in this state possess a flavour somewhat like that of the salmon. Their voracity has scarcely any bounds; and when they get among a shoal of herrings, they will make such havoc as frequently to drive it away. Mackerel are in season from March to June.