Reasons for the Decline in Mackerel Spawning

Environmental Impacts: Climate Change Reshapes Survival and Reproduction Conditions

• Spawning Ground Environmental Imbalance: Mackerel spawning time, location, and success rate are highly dependent on specific water temperature, ocean currents, and plankton conditions.
• Food Chain Basis Disruption: Mackerel feed on zooplankton. Climate change affects ocean currents and nutrient distribution, leading to changes in plankton community structure, abundance, and timing, potentially causing insufficient food for mackerel, affecting their growth, condition, and gonad development.

Overfishing

   Mackerel is a high-value commercial fish species. Long-term, unsustainable fishing pressures have continuously depleted the number of reproductive adult broodstock (spawning populations). The sharp decline in mackerel spawning means a potentially significant reduction in the number of next-generation juveniles, and a possible decrease in catchable quantities over the next 1-3 years.

   In the coming years, the decline in catches may lead to a tight supply of mackerel in the international market, higher prices, and impacts importers and seafood processing companies in various countries.