Horse mackerel:professional buying guide, season, size grades, fish auctions and prices

01

Buying sheet

Size grades: Regulation (EC) No 2406/96, Annex II (upper limit excluded). Minimum size: Regulation (EU) 2019/1241, Annexes V, VI, VII and IX. Yield: FAO, Technical Paper No 309 (1989). Tonnage and shares calculated by the editorial team from the sales declared at French fish auctions in 2024 (FranceAgriMer, workbook published on 2 July 2026). These figures only cover fish sold at auction under the label "chinchard commun", not fish sold by private agreement.

02

When to buy horse mackerel?

From spring to the end of summer. From April to August 2024, French fish auctions sold 60 to 102 tonnes of horse mackerel ("chinchard commun") a month, always at less than €1/kg on average; from November to February, less than 40 tonnes a month, at between about €1.40 and €2.10/kg. 2025 shows the same seasonality: the price is at its lowest in summer and at its highest in winter.

03

Atlantic or Mediterranean horse mackerel: what are we talking about?

Three horse mackerels carry a French name in the FAO list: the Atlantic horse mackerel (Trachurus trachurus, "chinchard d'Europe"), the Mediterranean horse mackerel (Trachurus mediterraneus, "chinchard à queue jaune") and the blue jack mackerel (Trachurus picturatus, "chinchard du large"). The first two look very much alike and both live in the Mediterranean; the Mediterranean horse mackerel also ranges up the Atlantic as far as the Bay of Biscay. The FAO identification sheets separate them by details of the lateral line, criteria for specialists rather than for buyers.

For the buyer, it is therefore the label that decides: the trade name and the scientific name are mandatory on it. Auction statistics count the two species separately; in 2024, the Mediterranean horse mackerel accounted for only 16 tonnes.

04

How to choose a horse mackerel?

• Size grade according to the plate. The EU scale runs from 1 (600 g and over) to 5 (20 to 80 g). Small sizes go to deep-frying or marinating, medium ones to whole grilling, large ones to fillets.
• Fat. According to the FAO, horse mackerel flesh contains 5.8% fat on average, against 11.4% for mackerel and 8.1% for sardine: it is a leaner oily fish, which dries out quickly if overcooked.
• The lateral line. Horse mackerel carries a row of enlarged, hard scales along its sides, the scutes (FAO). For fillets served skin-on, allow for them when trimming.
• Yield. The FAO gives 46% as skinless fillets, a value it describes as provisional, and 52% edible flesh. To be measured on your own deliveries and on your size grades.

05

How to judge the freshness of a horse mackerel?

Shiny skin, dark back with blue-green glints, silvery sides; bulging, clear eye; bright red gills; stiff body; firm belly, never burst; a clean smell of the sea. As with sardine and mackerel, a soft, dull or strong-smelling fish should be refused.

06

Which pitfalls to avoid?

• Raw and marinated. A horse mackerel served raw, marinated or lightly cooked must have been frozen for at least 24 hours at -20 °C (or 15 hours at -35 °C) against parasites, except for the exemptions provided for by Regulation (EC) No 853/2004.
• The name. Atlantic horse mackerel and Mediterranean horse mackerel are two species: the scientific name on the label tells you which one you are buying.
• Mixed sizes. For even deep-frying or grilling, ask for a graded batch.
• The cold chain. A small shoaling fish, landed in volume: check the temperature on receipt.

07

What to replace horse mackerel with?

08

What makes the price of horse mackerel move?

Year 2024, all French fish auctions: average first-sale price at the auction hall of batches declared as "chinchard commun" (FranceAgriMer, sales declared at fish auctions, workbook published on 2 July 2026). Spread between auctions: among those handling about 5% of volumes or more. The workbook attributes no 2024 sales of "chinchard commun" to several Breton auctions that declare some in 2025: these figures mainly describe Boulogne-sur-Mer and the Mediterranean. The auction price is not the price paid to the fish merchant: processing, transport and margin are added to it.

The price of horse mackerel moves against its landings. In May 2024, the busiest month (102 t), it fell to about €0.80/kg; in February, with 29 t, it exceeded €2/kg, and in December, with 23 t, it approached €1.60/kg. From April to August, the kilo stayed under €1. The spread between auctions mainly sets Boulogne-sur-Mer, where horse mackerel sold at around €0.90/kg, against the Mediterranean auctions, at between about €1.30 and €1.50/kg: gears, sizes and local outlets may partly explain it, without the workbook allowing a conclusion.

• The season: in 2024, the average price more than doubled between May (about €0.80/kg) and February (about €2.10/kg).
• The size: a batch graded as large fish does not sell at the price of a batch of small fish.
• The coast: Boulogne-sur-Mer sells in volume and more cheaply; the Mediterranean auctions sell smaller batches, at higher prices.
• The cost of the chain: on a fish sold at around €1/kg at auction, ice, grading, packing and transport weigh heavily in the delivered price.
• The weather: on a shoaling fish, a few days without boats going out quickly empty an auction's supply.