Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) >
Gadiformes (Cods) >
Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes) > Merlucciinae
Etymology: Macruronus: Greek, makros = great + Greek, onos = hake.
Environment / Climate / Range
Ecology
Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 26566), usually 200 - 700 m (Ref. 9563). Subtropical, preferred 14°C (Ref. 107945); 15°S - 55°S, 111°E - 173°W (Ref. 58452)
Southwest Pacific: New Zealand and southern Australia.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ?, range 65 - 70 cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); 130.0 cm TL (female); common length : 80.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 1.5 kg (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 1.5 kg; max. reported age: 25 years (Ref. 6390)
Dorsal
spines
(total): 12 - 13;
Dorsal
soft rays
(total): 96-106;
Anal
spines: 0;
Anal
soft rays: 89 - 93;
Vertebrae: 78 - 81. Dorsal surface silvery, with a purple or blue-green tinge; plank and belly silvery; fins darker. Body very elongate and compressed with a tapering tail, dorsal and anal fins confluent with the caudal fin (Ref. 33856).
Appear to live usually on or near the bottom, but may occasionally move up into mid-waters. Large adult fish generally occur deeper than 400 m, while juveniles may be found in shallower water (Ref. 9072), more commonly found in large estuaries and bays, and may even enter freshwaters (Ref. 1371). Juvenile specimens and especially adults belonging to the American subspecies, have been caught from the coastal zone to 110 m (Ref. 58452). Form schools. Feed primarily on lantern fishes. In New Zealand, it feeds in midwater on small fish, crustaceans and squid. Oviparous, spawn 1 million eggs on the average which are released all at one time (Ref. 6390). Utilized fresh and frozen; can be steamed, fried, cooked in microwave and baked (Ref. 9988).
Female blue grenadier produce about 1 million eggs on average, which are all released at once (Ref. 6390).
Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p. (Ref. 1371)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)
CITES (Ref. 94142)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial
Tools
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Estimates of some properties based on models
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82805): PD
50 = 0.5625 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00237 - 0.00639), b=3.00 (2.86 - 3.14), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species & (Sub)family-body (Ref.
93245).
Trophic Level (Ref.
69278): 4.5 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref.
69278): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.12-0.2; tm=3-7; tmax=25; Fec = 1,000,000).
Prior r = 0.4, 2 SD range = 0.21 - 0.77, log(r) = -0.92, SD log(r) = 0.32, Based on: 1 M, 11 K, 8 tgen, 1 tmax, 1 Fec records
Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100) .
