The Atlantic mackerel's body is elongate, steel-blue marked with wavy black lines dorsally and silvery-white ventrally, its snout long and pointed.

Reproduction, which is oviparous, occurs near the shore in the spring and summer, during which a female can produce as many as 450,000 eggs.

Nearly 1 million tonnes of Atlantic mackerel are caught each year globally, the bulk of which is sold fresh, frozen, smoked, or canned.

Despite its highly commercial status, the Atlantic mackerel is listed as Least Concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and global catch has remained sustainable.

The Atlantic mackerel was first described in 1758 by Swedish zoologist Carl Linnaeus in his 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

[3] In the eastern Atlantic Ocean there are three stocks differentiated by location and time at which spawning occurs, but studies have not found any distinct genetic differences between these populations.

Genetic differences only start to appear at the transatlantic scale, a fact supported by a lack of migration between western and eastern Atlantic populations, whereas eastern Atlantic stocks are known to converge in certain locations like the Norwegian Sea and North Sea.

[5] Its body is steel-blue dorsally with wavy black lines running perpendicular to the fish's length.

Food availability increases greatly during the summer, and fish reach a peak for fat tissue in August, a mere four months after their lowest point in April.

[7] The Atlantic mackerel is an active, fast-moving fish that must keep in constant motion to bring in enough oxygen to survive.

[5] They form large schools, consisting of individuals of the same relative size, near the ocean surface during all seasons but winter.

[8] When feeding on larger prey, schools tend to break down into shoals and individuals find food on their own.

[8] An Atlantic mackerel can live for up to 17 years and attain a length of 60 cm (24 in) and a weight of 3.4 kg (7.5 lb).

[12][13] The majority of the mackerel caught by Norwegian fisheries is exported to countries including China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam.

Unlike the King and Spanish species, Northern Atlantic mackerel are very low in mercury, and can be eaten at least twice a week according to United States Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.

Its abundance and extensive range combined with a cyclical increase/decrease in catch mean that it is not currently in danger of going extinct.

The IUCN did recommend careful monitoring, however, especially as the effects of climate change may impact population size and distribution.

[citation needed] The Spanish word for mackerel (caballa) is a colloquial demonym for the people of Ceuta, Spain.