School mackerel
Scomberomorus queenslandicus
Illustration: Bloom by Day
Silver with a grey-blue back and a row of large round dark blotches along the flank, shorter and deeper through the body than the Spanish mackerel it travels with. It works inshore sand and reef edges in small loose schools, turning together, and tends to make one curious pass before the whole group leaves at once.
how to recognise it
- about three rows of indistinct bronze-grey BLOTCHES along the side
- the first dorsal fin jet black with a large bright white patch toward its rear
- lateral line curving gradually down toward the tail wrist
don’t confuse with
- Spanish mackerel — the Spanish mackerel carries narrow WAVY BARS that run below the lateral line, not rows of blotches
- Shark mackerel — the shark mackerel has two lateral lines
- Spotted mackerel — spotted mackerel's marks are rows of small round spots, not a few large blotches
- Grey mackerel — grey mackerel loses its markings with growth and is nearly plain over 70 cm
Field marks read from FishBase, 2026-10-13. Our wording, their facts. Max size 100 cm FL.
facts
- habitat
- pelagic
- size
- ~50 cm, to 100 cm
Max size from FishBase (100 cm FL); the typical size is Bluebird’s, not from a cited source
- records near here
- 4 at 2 of 6 spots
A count of occurrence records near these spots, not abundance. Records are where someone looked.
when it has been recorded
JFMAMJJASOND
A gap means no record in the sample, not absence.
the rule
QLD — Min: 50cm · Limit: 10
source
· verified 2026-10-10
no NSW rule listed — check before you dive
no closed season recorded for this species — that is not the same as open; check the official page
Rules checked 2026-10-13 against qld.gov.au
Rules change. Check before you dive.
Occurrence data: Atlas of Living Australia (ala.org.au), CC-BY 4.0.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.
Diver transect counts: Reef Life Survey (reeflifesurvey.com), CC-BY 4.0, supplied via ALA.
Target and protected species: Queensland tidal-water size and possession limits (qld.gov.au) and NSW saltwater bag and size limits plus threatened species lists (dpird.nsw.gov.au).
Habitat and size: Bluebird, approximate, from general knowledge. Not cited. FishBase is CC BY-NC and this app is commercial, so it is not used.
Description written for Bloom. RECORDS ARE WHERE SOMEONE LOOKED, NOT WHERE THE FISH ARE. A record count is a count of records near here and nothing else -- it is not abundance, and a species with few records is not rare. Absence of records is not absence of fish.