Sexual Maturation of the Chub Mackerel Scomber colias (Scombridae) in the East-Central Atlantic

Abstract

Scientific monitoring of pelagic fish stocks in 2004–2005 and 2014–2017 provided information on characteristics of sexual maturation of Atlantic chub mackerel Scomber colias in the coastal waters of the Central-Eastern Atlantic. Based on these results we describe ecological and geographical variability of some biological characteristics of the species. Features of sexual maturation of females and males of the mackerel can be described by a logistic equation obtained in the R programming environment. Fork length, at which 50% of individuals aged 1+ are mature, is 18.4 cm for females and 20.0 cm for males; 100% of individuals are mature at age 3+ with a fork length of 32.3 and 30.8 cm for females and males, respectively. A high proportion of spawning chub mackerel individuals in the Central-Eastern Atlantic have been recorded from February to March and from June to July. Chub mackerel in the coastal waters of this region are similar in life cycle characteristics to the populations of the waters off the Canary Islands and the Madeira Archipelago, but differ from the populations of the waters off mainland Portugal, the Azores, South Africa, and the Bay of Biscay in faster sexual maturation and growth rates.