Norwegian record Atlantic horse mackerel: 1.16 kg

About Atlantic horse mackerel

The Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus) is a slim schooling fish with large eyes, a grey-green to bluish back and silvery sides. The surest field mark is the lateral line, which is covered by 70–80 keeled, spiky bony scutes and curves sharply downwards about halfway along the body. In the northeast Atlantic it ranges from Africa to about 66° N, including the Mediterranean, the Black Sea, the Skagerrak and the southern Norwegian Sea. It spawns south of Norway, for example in the Bay of Biscay, off western Britain and Ireland and in the southern North Sea, and then moves north to feed, much like mackerel. It eats krill, other crustaceans and small fish. It rarely exceeds about 40 cm, though longer fish have been reported. In Norway it is mostly caught on feather rigs and spinners in late summer and autumn, often alongside mackerel. IUCN: Vulnerable (VU). Norwegian Red List 2021: Least Concern (LC).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Store norske leksikon, Havforskningsinstituttet, Wikipedia

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: September
• Red list status: LC (2021)

See the species guide

Biggest Atlantic horse mackerel in FishComp

50 g (4 % of the record) by Lars Holte. See the catch

How to register a Norwegian record

1. Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
2. Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
3. Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.