First Mass Capture of Black Snake Mackerel Nealotus tripes (Gempylidae)

Abstract

This article documents the first mass capture (over 300 individuals per catch) of black snake mackerel Nealotus tripes (Gempylidae) in the open part of the northwestern Pacific to the southeast of the southern Kuril Islands in September 2014. The external morphological characters and the size composition of the black snake mackerel, and the species composition of hydrobionts that occur together with mackerel in catches are characterized.