Pacific mackerel

Pacific mackerel, Scomber japonicus, is a marine fish of the mackerel family Scombridae found across the Indo-Pacific. It is a commercially important food fish, especially in Japan, where it is eaten grilled, simmered, and as shime-saba. Its flesh is rich in fat with a strongly distinctive, savoury flavour, and it is marketed fresh, frozen, smoked, salted, and occasionally canned; it is also known as chub mackerel. Its oiliness makes it nutritious but perishable, and like other scombroids it can accumulate histamine if temperature-abused, causing scombroid poisoning. Strict chilling from catch to consumer is therefore the critical safety control for this popular fish.