Diet composition and trophic level of Trachurus japonicus were studied using 417 specimens collected by trawls, set nets and purse seine fisheries from March 2019 to February 2020 in the South Sea of Korea. The size of T. Japonicus ranged from 7.0 to 49.8 cm in total length. T. japonicus were a carnivore that fed mainly on euphausiids and pisces. In eddition, T. japonicus fed on small quantities of cephalopods, crabs etc. T. japonicus showed ontogenetic changes in feeding habits. The proportion of euphausiids decreased inversely proportional to body size whereas the consumption of pisces gradually increased. As body size of T. japonicus increased the mean number of prey per stomach and the mean weight of prey per stomach tended to increase, but the mean number of prey per stomach was not significantly different. As a result of the feeding strategy analysis, T. japonicus were specialized feeders with pisces and euphausiids as their dominant prey. The trophic level ranged between 3.57 ± 0.54 and 3.91 ± 0.65, and increased asymptotically with size of specimens. The average trophic level of the T. japonicus was 3.79 ± 0.61.

The diet composition of juvenile Trachurus japonicus were studied using 195 specimens collected from 2013 (May, June, July, and September) to 2014 (May, June, and July) in the coastal waters of Geumodo, Yeosu, Korea. The size of juvenile T. japonicus ranged from 4.3 to 15.2 cm in body length (BL). Juvenile T. japonicus was carnivorous and crustaceans predators that consumes mainly consumed copepods. Its diet also included small quantities of decapods, cirripedians, nematods, chaetognathans, fishes, amphipods, cumaceans, ostracods and euphausiids. The graphical method for feeding strategy revealed that juvenile T. japonicus is an opportunistic and specialized predator on copepods, especially Corycaeus. affinis, and showed narrow niche width. Juvenile T. japonicus showed ontogenetic diet change. Small size group individuals (4.3–8.0 cm BL) mainly consumed copepods. The portion of this prey item decreased in the large size group (8.0–15.2 cm BL), and this decrease was paralleled with increased consumption of decapods.

Species composition of fishes and the recruitment properties of jack mackerel, Trachurus japonicus, in the waters around the Geumo Islands in the mid-South Sea were investigated by using both sides fyke nets every month from February to December 2010. During study period, a total of 30,503 fishes (1,380.4 kg) were collected and classified into 2 classes, 16 orders, 61 families and 121 species. The dominant species was jack mackerel occupying 80.5% of total individuals and 44.4% of total biomass. The fork length range of jack mackerel was 5.5-26.8 cm and individuals about 6 cm was appeared only in the middle and southern area of the Geumo Islands in May. The new recruitment of jack mackerel appeared from May in the waters around the Geumo Islands is probably caused by the warm water intrusion associated with the development of stratification due to the extinction of seasonal coastal cold waters by the increase of solar radiation heat. Furthermore, the jack mackerels less than 6 cm recruiting in the mid-South Sea in spring were considered as mixed ones by individuals spawned in the East China Sea and in the waters around the Jeju Island considering the collected time, migration period and spawning time of them.

Maturation and spawning of the jack mackerel, Trachurus japonicus was investigated based on the samples captured in the coastal waters around Jeju Island from January 2007 to December 2008. Gonadosomatic index began to increase in March, and reached a maximum between April to June. After spawning it began to decrease from August. Reproductive season was estimated to March-July, with peak in April. Fecundity was proportional to the size of the female, with the clutch size varying from 33,493 eggs in the smallest female(FL=27.0cm) to 627,061 eggs in the largest(FL=40.6cm). Size at 50% sexual maturity(FL50), determined from mature females, was 26.6cm FL. Annual reproductive cycles of this species could be divided into six successive stages; immature stage(September-December), nucleolus stage(January-February), yolk vesicle stage(February-March), vitellogenic stage(March-April), ripe stage(April-July) and spent stage(July-September).

1987년 2월부터 1988년 1월까지 낙동강 하구해역에서 채집된 전갱이(체장 4~15cm)의 식성을 조사하였다. 전갱이의 주요 먹이생물은 요각류(Copepoda), 단각류(Amphipods), 공쟁이류(Mysidacea)등의 갑각류였다. 특히 요각류가 위 내용물 중 차지하는 비율이 매우 높았다. 그 외에 십각류(Decapoda), 난바다공쟁이류(eEuphausiacea), 모악류(Chaetognatha), 갯지렁이류(Polycheata), 어란 및 자어 등이 위내용물 중 소량 발견되었다. 요각류 중에서는 Paracalanus parvus, Acartia clausi 그리고 Calanus sinicus 가 많이 섭이되었는데, 특히 C. sinicus에 대한 선호도가 높았다. 전갱이가 성장함에 따라 먹이생물의 조성이 점차 변하였다. 작은 전갱이들은 그들의 먹이를 요각류에 거의 전적으로 의존하였으나, 체장이 증가하면서 위내용물 중 요각류가 차지하는 비율은 점차 감소하였으며, 그 대신 비교적 큰 먹이생물인 단각류 및 곤쟁이류의 점유율은 점차 증가하였다.

위협광에 의한 어류의 행동제어개발을 위하여, 스트로보광에 대한 전갱이와 잉어의 명순응과정을 조사하였는데, 스트로브광의 섬광빈도는 전갱이의 경우, 1.7, 5, 10, 25, 430Hz의 5단계, 잉어의 경우는 1.7, 5, 25Hz의 3단계로 하였다. 안구표본의 채취는 조사전과 조사직후부터 1, 5, 10, 30분 경과마다 행하였고, 채취한 각 표본은 종단조직절편을 만들고 현미경 관찰을 행하였다. 망막의 순응율은 원추체지수를 구하여 나타내었다. 조사시간에 따른 평균 순응율은; \circled1 전갱이의 경우, 광조사전의 27%가 1, 5, 10, 30분 경과 시마다 각각 42.6%, 49.8%, 59.8%, 83.1%로 증가하였다. \circled2 잉어의 경우, 광조사전의 28.4%가 1, 5, 30분 경과 시마다 각각 51%, 54.9%, 91.3%로 되었다. 명순응과정은; \circled1 전갱이의 경우 430Hz, 25Hz, 5Hz, 1.7Hz, 10Hz의 순으로, \circled2 잉어의 경우는 25Hz, 5Hz, 1.7Hz의 순으로 대략 빨랐다.