“Since 2017, NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council have been trying to help the Atlantic mackerel population rebuild. The population has been struggling, but a recent stock assessment shows that the population is showing signs of improvement…

In September 2025, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center completed another management track assessment for mackerel using updated data through 2024. That assessment indicated the mackerel population is no longer low, and overfishing is still not occurring. Mackerel abundance from the 2024 spring bottom trawl survey was also near a record high. In 2024 egg production in U.S. waters was the highest since the 1980s, and estimated recruitment was the highest it’s been since 1983. While the mackerel population is showing signs of improvement, there is a substantial amount of uncertainty. Mackerel assessments have tended to overestimate terminal year recruitment in the past, and the abundance of older, larger fish in the mackerel population is low. However, the 2025 assessment results represent an improvement from the last few assessments.”

From NOAA Fisheries.