[citation needed] Scomberomorus commerson is found in a wide area centering in Southeast Asia, but as far west as the east coast of Africa and from the Persian Gulf and along the northern coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, and as far east as Fiji in the South West Pacific ocean.

[3][4] Recorded first in the Mediterranean Sea in 1935 off Mandatory Palestine, it is now very common in the eastern Levant where it has become an important target species for local fisheries.

Eggs have a large oil droplet that aids in buoyancy and keeps them at the top of the water column which is warmer, well oxygenated, and has an abundant planktonic food supply for the larvae once they are hatched.

When in the larval stage, Spanish mackerel are believed to stay in their own species-specific groups and are not normally found with other species of the same genus, such as S. semifasciatus and S. queenslandicus.

[6] In general, spawning times for Spanish mackerel tend to be associated with higher water temperatures that promote optimal food availability for the rapid growth and development of the larvae.

[7] As the young larvae grow, they move from the offshore spawning grounds to inshore and estuarine habitats, where they are frequently found in the juvenile phase of their growth cycle.

Spectacular parasites are the cysts of the larvae of the trypanorhynch cestode Callitetrarhynchus gracilis, often found in great numbers in the body cavity.