MACKEREL

12th March 2024

Photo Credit: StandardSight (Getty Images), CANVA

QUOTATION

I grant you upon instinct. Well, he is there too and one Mordake,

and a thousand blue-caps more. Worcester is stolen away tonight.

Thy father’s beard is turned white upon the news.

You may buy land now as cheap as stinking mackerel.

FALSTAFF: Henry IV, Part 1, Act 2, Scene 4

MACKEREL (Species in the Scombridae Family e.g. Atlantic Mackerel: Scomber scrombus)

This is the sole reference to Mackerel in Shakespeare’s works. The reference makes it clear that Mackerel were abundant fish and rotten Mackerel is an example of something with no value.

Mackerel is included as one of the dishes for fish days in A Good Huswife’s Handmaide for the Kitchin (1594).

Mackerel are pelagic fish (fish that do not swim at the bottom of the sea or near the shore), and swim in shoals. There are about 30 species which are called Mackerel in the family Scombridae. Mackerel are often seen as an abundant fish, however, the Marine Conservation Society has highlighted that North East Atlantic Mackerel have moved to Amber status due to overfishing.

More Information

Folger Shakespeare Library: Search Shakespeare’s Works

Foods of England: A Good Huswife’s Handmaide in the Kitchin (1594)

Marine Conservation Society: Mackerel no longer a sustainable choice

Marine Stewardship Council: Mackerel

Wildlife Trusts: Mackerel