Common names from other countries

Merlu argenté, Merluza norteamericana, Хек серебристый (=мерлуза серебристая), ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Merlucciidae (Merluccid hakes)
Etymology: Merluccius: Latin, mar, maris = the sea + Latin, lucius = pike (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Mitchill.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 55 - 914 m (Ref. 58452). Temperate; 55°N - 24°N, 80°W - 42°W (Ref. 54581)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Northwest Atlantic: coast of Canada and USA from Bell Isle Channel to the Bahamas; most common from southern Newfoundland to South Carolina.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: L_m 23.2 range ? - ? cm
Max length : 76.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 37.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length :65 cm TL (female); max. published weight: 2.3 kg (Ref. 1371); max. reported age: 12 years (Ref. 1371)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 47 - 54; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 37 - 41. Head large, about 30% of SL . Pectoral fins long, reaching origin of anal fin. Overall color is silvery, somewhat brownish on back, whitish on belly.

Abundant on sandy grounds and strays into shallower waters. A voracious predator with cannibalistic habits. Individuals over 40 cm TL prey on fishes such as gadoids and herring, while smaller ones feed on crustaceans, i.e. euphausiids and pandalids; food also includes gaspereau, myctophids, smelt, silversides, mackerel, sand lance, butterfish, snakeblennies, longhorn sculpins and squids (Ref. 5951). The smallest specimen feeds mostly on crustaceans (Ref. 58452). Exhibits seasonal onshore-offshore migration (Ref. 9988). Spawning takes place from June-July in the mid-Atlantic region; July-August in the Gulf of Maine and to the north of Georges Bank, and August-September on the Scotian Shelf (Ref. 58452). Marketed fresh, smoked and frozen; fresh fish are exported to European markets; eaten fried, broiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Spawning appears to be strongly influenced by water temperature, and annual variations occur both in the peak and the range of the spawning period, which may influence considerably the growth of juveniles.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

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. 130435)

Near Threatened (NT) ; Date assessed: 06 January 2015

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial

FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.9 - 7.8, mean 4.9 (based on 155 cells).

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804): PD₅₀ = 0.5000 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].

Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00479 (0.00400 - 0.00573), b=3.11 (3.06 - 3.16), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).

Trophic level (Ref. 69278): 4.5 ±0.4 se; based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 120179): Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.18-0.4;tm=2-3; tmax=12).

Prior r = 0.26, 95% CL = 0.17 - 0.39, Based on 3 full stock assessments.

Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153): Moderate to high vulnerability (54 of 100).

Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649): Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100).

Price category (Ref. 80766): Low.

Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill, 1814)