The Pacific saury (Cololabis saira) is species of fish in the family Scomberesocidae. Saury is a seafood in several East Asian cuisines and is also known by the name mackerel pike.
Saury is a fish with a small mouth, an elongated body, a series of small finlets between the dorsal and anal fins, and a small forked tail. The fish's color is dark green to blue on the dorsal surface, silvery below, and there are small, bright blue blotches distributed randomly on the sides.
It is about 25-30 cm long when caught, but it can grow up to 40 cm long and is about 180 grams when caught in the autumn. Saury will be at most four years old. Saury is a pelagic fish and wants to stay close to the surface and is caught there, but it can also be down to a depth of up to 230 m. When saury is escaping from predators, it floats on the surface and is similar to other fish within the genus.
These pelagic schooling fish are found in the North Pacific, from China, Korea and Japan eastward to the Gulf of Alaska and southward to subtropical Mexico, preferring temperatures around 15 – 18 °C. Pacific saury is usually found near the surface (though they may have a depth range of 0 – 230 m).
The Pacific saury is a highly migratory species. Adults are generally found offshore, near the surface of the ocean, in schools. Juveniles associate with drifting seaweed. Pacific saury are oviparous. Eggs are attached to floating objects, such as seaweed, via filaments on the shell surface.
The saury feeds on zooplankton, such as copepods, krill, amphipods, and the eggs and larvae of common fish, such as anchovies, due to their lack of stomach, and their short straight intestines. The internal organs of the saury may contain small, red, earthworm-like parasites named Rhadinorhynchus selkirki; these are harmless.
A few of the natural predators of Pacific saury include marine mammals, squid and tuna.
Saury oil contains considerable levels of n-3 unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) and long-chain monounsaturated fatty acids (LCMUFA) with aliphatic tails longer than 18 carbons.
