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Ingredient file // Animal protein

Mackerel Meal

Concentrated fish protein, with variable omega-3

Mackerel meal is whole mackerel or mackerel processing parts cooked, pressed and dried into a protein meal. It supplies animal protein and some remaining fish fat. Its name alone cannot tell you how much EPA and DHA the finished food contains.

What it is
Mackerel or its processing parts, cooked, pressed, dried and ground into a fish protein meal.
Made from
Whole mackerel or mackerel processing parts
Main job
Concentrated animal protein
Typical amount
Not published for mackerel meal
Watch for
Fish allergy and poorly stored meal
Not the same as
Fish oil

Our read // In our catalog

In 1 of every 631 foods we track

Share of foods that list it

0%

4 of the 2,523 foods with an ingredient list on file, from 2 brands. All dry dog food.

Each square is 1% of the catalog

Where it sits on the label

Median position 9. In the top five of 1 food, so it is usually a supporting ingredient.

Top five List position, heaviest first

Above the salt

100%

Almost always listed before the salt, so there is more of it than a pinch.

Price per lb

Foods with it $5.20
All foods $3.23

Median of the cheapest bag price across 4 priced foods, 61% above the catalog. The price is the food's, not the ingredient's.

Who leans on it

50%

of the foods that list it are from Acana. 2 brands use it in total.

What it is

How it is made

Fishing and seafood processing supply whole fish and parts left after filleting. Fish meal plants cook and press that wet material, recover much of its oil separately, then dry the solids into a stable feed ingredient.6,7,8,9

  1. 01 // Source Mackerel and parts Whole fish or processing parts bring protein, water and oil to the fish meal plant.
  2. 02 // Process Cooked Heat firms the proteins and releases oil and water from the fish tissue.
  3. 03 // Process Pressed Pressing removes much of the liquid from the cooked solids; the oil is recovered separately.
  4. 04 // Process Dried and milled The remaining solids are dried for storage and ground into a uniform meal.
  5. 05 // Output Mackerel meal A dry, ground ingredient supplies concentrated fish protein, minerals and some fat to the kibble plant.

What is in it

Composition, dry matter

76.6

% protein

A tested mackerel meal had this much crude protein on a dry matter basis. It describes one sample, not every supplier's meal.

Crude protein 76.6%3
Ash 16.7%3
Crude fat 6.8%3

These figures describe one steam-dried sample. The share of whole fish versus bones and trimmings changes protein and ash; pressing, drying and storage change how much fat remains.3,6

Why it is in the bag

What the manufacturer gets

  1. 01

    Adds fish protein

    Removing water and much of the oil concentrates the fish solids. One tested mackerel meal was 76.6% crude protein on a dry matter basis.3,7

  2. 02

    Supplies fish flavor

    Dogs ate similar amounts of kibble with 10% salmon meal and a chicken-based control in one preference test. Fish meal adds flavor, but greater preference is not assured.2

  3. 03

    Uses available fish material

    Fish meal plants use whole fish and seafood processing parts. FAO reported that by-products supplied 27% of global fishmeal production in 2020; supply still follows fisheries and competing feed demand.6,8

  4. 04

    Adds residual fish fat

    Some oil stays in the pressed meal and carries EPA and DHA. The amount varies, so the ingredient name cannot tell you the finished food's omega-3 content.3,6,7

How much A senior-dog study tested 20% white fish meal; the cited dog studies give no tested inclusion amount for mackerel meal.1

Our read // The claims

What the evidence supports

Strong: controlled studies in dogs agree. Some: small or mixed dog data. Thin: mechanism or lab work only. None: nothing, or the evidence points the other way.

  1. Brands say

    Meal supplies more protein per pound than fresh mackerel

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    The tested meal was 76.6% protein on a dry matter basis and 92.4% dry matter. FAO's fresh mackerel examples had 15% to 18% protein as sold. Drying largely explains the greater amount per pound.3,12

  2. Brands say

    Fish meal is a digestible protein for dogs

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A senior-dog trial replaced poultry by-product meal with 20% white fish meal without reducing apparent nutrient digestibility. That supports fish meal as a protein source, but the trial did not test mackerel meal.1

  3. Brands say

    Mackerel meal improves skin and coat

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    A brand diet improved skin scores in 15 of 16 dogs completing a crossover study, but it changed several nutrients and did not test mackerel meal. The meal's fat content gives no finished-food EPA or DHA dose.3,4,6

  4. Brands say

    A mackerel meal food is hypoallergenic

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    In a cohort of 179 atopic dogs, 27 worsened after cod exposure, and serum from 8 dogs recognized mackerel collagen. The study did not test feeding mackerel meal, but fish protein is no basis for a hypoallergenic claim.5

  5. Owners say

    All mackerel meal is high in mercury

    Outruns the evidence

    Evidence

    1. Strong
    2. Some
    3. Thin
    4. None

    FDA places Atlantic and Pacific chub mackerel among its lower-mercury fish choices, while king mackerel is among the highest. Those are fish consumption categories, not measurements of a particular meal; the species matters.10

Straight answers

What owners ask

  1. Q01

    Is it just filler?

    No

    It supplies concentrated fish protein. A dog trial found that white fish meal worked in place of poultry by-product meal without lowering digestibility. A bag still does not tell you how much mackerel meal its recipe contains.1,3

  2. Q02

    Does it replace fish oil?

    Not reliably

    Pressing removes much of the oil, although some remains in the meal. If EPA and DHA matter to you, read the finished food's stated amounts; the ingredient name gives no dose.3,6,7

  3. Q03

    Is all mackerel high in mercury?

    No

    FDA puts Atlantic and Pacific chub mackerel in lower-mercury fish categories and king mackerel in its highest category. A label saying mackerel meal does not identify the species, so ask the manufacturer what it uses.10

Who uses it

Brands, best sellers and the company it keeps

Top brands, by foods that list it

  1. Acana 2
  2. Orijen 2

Usually listed with, share of the foods that list it

  1. Herring Meal 75%
  2. Red Lentils 50%
  3. Pollock Meal 50%
  4. Rainbow Trout 50%
  5. Lamb 50%
  6. Lamb Meal 50%
  7. Whole Mackerel 25%
  8. Whole Herring 25%
  9. Redfish 25%
  10. Silver Hake 25%
  11. Sunflower Oil 25%
  12. Whitefish Meal 25%

On the shelf

Foods that list it

4 foods in our reviews list it. Here are some of them.

Acana Highest Protein Wild Atlantic Recipe Dry Dog Food37.5% protein
Show 3 more Acana Freshwater Fish Blend Dry Dog Food33.0% proteinOrijen Tundra Dry Dog Food45.5% proteinOrijen Regional Red Dry Dog Food43.2% protein

Our read // On the bag

Count it as protein, then check the food

Mackerel meal high on the ingredient list signals a substantial dry fish ingredient. Check the food's protein and its stated EPA and DHA amounts, then read what other protein sources sit nearby. If fish allergy matters for your dog, treat the meal as fish regardless of how it was processed.

Sources

What we read

Checked October 1, 2026.

  1. 1 Fish protein substrates can substitute effectively for poultry by-product meal when incorporated in high-quality senior dog diets Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition, 2009 // Journal
  2. 2 Fish meals, fish components, and fish protein hydrolysates as potential ingredients in pet foods Journal of Animal Science, 2006 // Journal
  3. 3 Apparent digestibility coefficients of the extruded pellet diets containing various fish meals for olive flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2016 // Journal
  4. 4 Efficacy of an essential fatty acid-enriched diet in managing canine atopic dermatitis: a randomized, single-blinded, cross-over study Veterinary Dermatology, 2008 // Journal
  5. 5 IgE reactivity to fish allergens from Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) in atopic dogs BMC Veterinary Research, 2020 // Journal
  6. 6 Fish meal Feedipedia (INRAE, CIRAD, AFZ, FAO), 2026 // Database
  7. 7 The production of fish meal and oil - 3. The process Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d. // Government
  8. 8 Utilization and processing of fisheries and aquaculture production Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2022 // Government
  9. 9 What's in the Ingredients List? AAFCO, n.d. // Regulator
  10. 10 Advice about Eating Fish U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2021 // Government
  11. 11 FEDIAF Guide to Good Practice for the Manufacture of Safe Pet Foods FEDIAF, 2018 // Industry
  12. 12 The production of fish meal and oil - 2. Raw Material Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, n.d. // Government
An ingredient on its own tells you very little. What matters is how much of it there is and where it sits in the list. That is why we weigh the top five rather than reacting to any single name further down. Back to the wiki

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