Summary Horse mackerel refers to several different fish species found around the world. Most horse mackerels belong to the jack mackerel and scad family Carangidae. Among these is the Atlantic

The horse mackerel’s common name derives from a legend that other smaller fishes would ride on its back on long journeys. 
Horse mackerels are important to commercial fisheries thanks to their population density, nutrient content, and strong taste. 
Horse mackerels can live up to 40 years old in the wild. 
While they normally congregate in schools with other mackerel, horse mackerels will readily form schools with other fish for safety. 
Juvenile horse mackerels will hide in the tentacles of jellyfish to avoid predators

For instance, Atlantic horse mackerels spend most of their time at depths of around 330 to 600 feet, although they occasionally dive as deep as 3,440 feet. You can normally find eggs and juveniles in pelagic waters, while adults will travel back to shallower depths to breed and spawn.

Most horse mackerel species rank among the most popular commercial fishing species in the world. Each year, fishers pull tens of thousands of tons of horse mackerel from the ocean, representing hundreds of millions, if not billions, of fish. As most horse mackerel are listed as species of Least Concern, that means there is plenty of fish left in the water to replenish their population despite the impact of commercial fishing. Given this reality, it’s safe to say that there are likely tens of billions of horse mackerel in the world’s oceans at any one time.