country information

Common names: Valkoturska
Occurrence:
Salinity:
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments:
National Checklist:
Country Information:
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
National Database:

Classification / Names

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL

Common names from other countries

Мерланг, Merlan, Plegonero, ... more

Main reference

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba. 1990. (Ref. 1371)
References | Biblio | Coordinator | Collaborators

Size / Weight / Age

Max length : 70.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 23.5 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 3.1 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 35388)

Length at first maturity
L_m 27.8, range 28 - 30 cm

Environment

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 10 - 200 m (Ref. 1371), usually 30 - 100 m (Ref. 1371)

Climate / Range

Temperate, preferred 11°C (Ref. 107945); 72°N - 35°N, 27°W - 42°E

Distribution

Northeast Atlantic: southeastern Barents Sea and Iceland to Portugal, also in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, Adriatic Sea and adjacent areas. Rare in the northwestern Mediterranean.
Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions

Short description

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 30-40; Anal soft rays: 30 - 35. Body elongate; head small. Chin barbel small or absent. Lateral-line canals on head with pores. Color is variable; yellowish-brown, dark blue or green, sides yellowish grey, white and silvery on belly; often with a small dark blotch at the upper base of the pectoral fin.

More commonly found from 30 to 100 m, mainly on mud and gravel bottoms, but also on sand and rock. Feed on shrimps, crabs, mollusks, small fish, polychaetes and cephalopods. Migrate to the open sea only after the first year of life. Eggs are pelagic. Larvae and juveniles are associated with jellyfish. Upon maturity, small chin barbel characteristic of juveniles disappear (Ref. 53061). Spawn in batches (Ref. 51846). Utilized fresh, dried or salted, smoked and frozen; eaten steamed, broiled and baked (Ref. 9988).

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 115185)

Least Concern (LC)

Threat to humans

Harmless

Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration

Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development

Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance

References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Allele frequencies
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion

Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Estimates of some properties based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805)
PD₅₀ = 1.0000 many relatives (e.g. carps) 0.5 - 2.0 few relatives (e.g. lungfishes)

Trophic Level (Ref. 69278)
4.4 ±0.2 se; Based on diet studies.

Resilience (Ref. 69278)
Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (rm=1.1-1.6(?); K=0.07-0.74; tm=1-4; tmax=20; Fec>100,000)

Vulnerability (Ref. 59153)
Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100)

Price category (Ref. 80766)
Medium

Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)