Yellowtail horse mackerel


The yellowtail horse mackerel, also known as the yellowtail scad, is a jack in the family Carangidae found around Australia and New Zealand at depths to 500 m. Its length is up to.
The yellowtail horse mackerel is very similar to the greenback horse mackerel, but has 68 to 73 lateral line scutes, compared with 76 to 82 for the greenback horse mackerel.
Adult yellowtail horse mackerels are found in coastal waters and estuaries, showing a preference for waters less than deep and no cooler than. They are frequently encountered on the bottom or in midwater but are only infrequently recorded near the surface, they occur in large schools. Adults are normally recorded over rocky reefs just offshore while the juveniles prefer waters with shallow, soft substrates. This species can be sold fresh, smoked, canned and frozen; and it can be cooked by frying, broiling and baking. It is a relatively long lived species for its size, living up to 15 years, and is exploited by commercial and recreational fisheries. In New South Wales the catch per annum since 1997 has been between 300 to 500 tonnes but much of the catch is discarded or used as bait.