maasbanker, noun

/ˈmɑːsbaŋkə/
Forms:
maasbancker, maasbankShow more Also maasbancker, maasbank, marsbanker, masbanker, massbanker, mossbanker.
Origin:
Dutch marsbanker.
The fish Trachurus trachurus of the Carangidae. See also kingfish. Also attributive.
Note:
The name ‘maasbanker’ is used for this species in Smith and Heemstra’s Smiths’ Sea Fishes (1986).
[1727 J.G. Scheuchzer tr. of E. Kaempfer’s Hist. of Japan I. 136Adsi is the Maasbancker of the Dutch.]
1831 S. Afr. Almanac & Dir. JuneFish in Season — Ray, Maasbanker, Jacob Evert etc.
1843 J.C. Chase Cape of G.H. 169Maasbank like Mackarel [sic] but stronger, not always wholesome.
1887 S.W. Silver & Co.’s Handbk to S. Afr. 184Caranx trachurus, Bastard Mackerel, Maasbanker. Flesh well formed and wholesome. Caught in winter at both ends of Colony.
1905 J.D.F. Gilchrist in Flint & Gilchrist Science in S. Afr. 193The familiar Stock-fish (Merlucius vulgaris) and the Maasbanker (Caranx trachurus) are examples from the group of the fishes illustrating identity of Cape and European forms.
1910 D. Fairbridge That Which Hath Been (1913) 36The white sea-gulls and the gannets wheeled overhead, dropping every now and then from the blue sky into the bluer sea in search of harders and mossbankers.
c1929 S. Black in S. Gray Three Plays (1984) 95I’m no good at fishing. I once caught a mossbanker, but he got off the hook.
1949 J.L.B. Smith Sea Fishes of Sn Afr. 213Trachurus trachurus...Maasbankers. Horse Mackerel...On the west coast large numbers are captured.
1958 L.G. Green S. Afr. Beachcomber 114The harder is a mullet, of course, and this is one of the fish selected in the Cape for kippering. Marsbanker is another, and a marsbanker soaked in brine and cunningly smoked will stand comparison with Scotland’s famous product.
1960 G. Lister Reminisc. 14There was a big shoal of Maasbankers coming in, and numbers of Malay boys and men were catching them with hook and line.
1969 J.R. Grindley Riches of Sea 76The most important pelagic fish in our waters are the south African pilchard (Sardinops ocellata) the maasbanker (Trachurus trachurus) the mackerel (Scomber japonicus) and the anchovy (Engraulis japonicus).
1976 E. Prov. Herald 19 Feb. 18Fleets of boats accompanied by factory ships from many parts of the world, converge on the pilchard, anchovy, maasbanker and mackerel shoals and clean them up with vacuum cleaner thoroughness.
1979 Snyman & Klarie Free from Sea 36Maasbanker, Horse Mackerel Small, bony fish with a strip of sharp, prickly scales down each side which must be cut out. The flesh is dark, rich and tasty, and is invaluable to our canning industry.
1986 Conserva Aug. 11The deep-sea industry targets mainly on Cape hake, and to a lesser extent horse mackerel (maas-banker), although profitable by-catches of species such as king-klip, monk and snoek are also made.
1986 Smith & Heemstra Smiths’ Sea Fishes 660Trachurus Trachurus, Bluish green, grey or nearly black above, shading to silvery white below; black opercular spot...The maasbanker is an important commercial species with 100–250 thousand tons trawled annually by west coast fishermen; it is also considered to be an excellent bait for large game fish.
1989 E. Prov. Herald 14 Sept. 3A limit on the number of catches of redeye round-herring and South Coast maasbanker will be imposed from January 1.
The fish Trachurus trachurus of the Carangidae.
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Dutch
maas, amasi, nounn.maat, nounn.
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