Unlike its family cousin the tunas, the kings have large, sharp, blade- like teeth, filling the jawbones with enough grasping and slashing power to still most prey. The body is streamlined, sleek and fast, and while kings aren't designed for the staying power of the tunas, they are peerless when speed and agility are considered together. In the cool months they concentrate around the greater Antilles and off the tip of Florida, but with the advent of warmer days, many embark on the trek northward that will bring them off the northern Gulf coastal states by March, where they remain until at least October. They spawn during late spring and summer in the northern Gulf, most intensively in later summer, in middle to outer continental shelf waters. King mackerel usually travel in small schools, and prefer slightly deeper water than Spanish mackerel, although large kings are often caught well within sight of land, and along coasts with fairly steep dropoffs, such as around Destin, Florida, catches from coastal piers are common.
Fish is the predominant food of kings.
Throughout most of the Gulf, the king mackerel is the favorite offshore game fish, accessible to thousands of sportsmen with a modest craft. It is also strongly fished commercially, but because of its preference for deeper water, and tendency toward smaller schools, it hasn't received the pressure form net fishermen accorded to Spanish mackerel. Recently, the Federal Government has imposed limits on kings to two per person per day. It will take a great deal of research, records, and time to determine the worth of this action.