Merlangius merlangus, Whiting : fisheries, gamefish, aquarium

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Merlangius merlangus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Whiting
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Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Merlangius merlangus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Merlangius merlangus (Whiting)
Merlangius merlangus
Picture by Morris, P.

Common names from other countries

Merlan, Plegonero, Мерланг, ... more

Classification / Names Nomi Comuni | Sinonimi | Catalog of Fishes(Genere, Specie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Etymology: Merlangius: French, merlan = a fish (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / distribuzione batimetrica / distribution range Ecologia

marino; salmastro benthopelagico; oceanodromo (Ref. 51243); distribuzione batimetrica 10 - 200 m (Ref. 1371), usually 30 - 100 m (Ref. 1371). Temperate; 72°N - 35°N, 27°W - 42°E

Distribuzione Stati | Aree FAO | Ecosystems | Presenze | Mappa dei ritrovamenti | Introduzioni | Faunafri

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.

Length at first maturity / Size / Peso / Age

Maturità: Lm 28.2, range 28 - 30 cm
Max length : 91.5 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 106276); common length : 23.5 cm TL maschio/sesso non determinato; (Ref. 1371); peso massimo pubblicato: 3.1 kg (Ref. 40637); Età massima riportata: 20 anni (Ref. 35388)

Short description Chiavi di identificazione | Morfologia | Morfometria

Spine dorsali (totale) : 0; Raggi dorsali molli (totale) : 30 - 40; Raggi anali molli: 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.
Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal; Cross section: circular.

Biologia     Glossario (es. epibenthic)

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturità | Riproduzione | Deposizione | Uova | Fecundity | Larve

Oviparous, sexes are separate (Ref. 205).

Main reference Upload your references | Bibliografia | Coordinatore | Collaboratori

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: Version 2025-1)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 18 October 2013

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Pesca: elevato interesse commerciale; Pesce da pesca sportiva: si; Acquario: Acquari pubblici
FAO - pesca: landings, species profile; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Informazioni ulteriori

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Alimentazione
Consumo di cibo
Food rations
Predatori
Ecologia
Ecologia
Home ranges
Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Reclutamento
Abbondanza
Life cycle
Riproduzione
Maturità
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
Deposizione
Spawning aggregations
Uova
Egg development
Larve
Dinamica popolazioni larvali
Distribuzione
Stati
Aree FAO
Ecosystems
Presenze
Introduzioni
BRUVS - Videos
Anatomy
Area branchiale
Brain
Otolith
Physiology
Body composition
Nutrients
Oxygen consumption
Swimming type
Swimming speed
Visual pigments
Fish sound
Diseases & Parasites
Toxicity (LC50s)
Genetica
Genome
Genetica
Heterozygosity
Ereditarietà
Human related
Aquaculture systems
Profili di acquacoltura
Varietà
Ciguatera cases
Stamps, coins, misc.
Outreach
Collaboratori
Taxonomy
Nomi Comuni
Sinonimi
Morfologia
Morfometria
Immagini
Bibliografia
Bibliografia

Strumenti

Bio-Quiz | E-book | Giuda pratica | Chiavi di identificazione | Generatore frequenze di lunghezza | Strumento Parametri Biologici | Mappa dei ritrovamenti | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

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

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Nomi Comuni | Photos

Fonti Internet

AFORO (otoliths) | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: Genere, Specie | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - pesca: landings, species profile; Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | Database Nazionali | OneZoom | Open Tree of Life | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Acquari pubblici | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | TreeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, ricerca | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Fonte Biblio. 123201): 7 - 11.9, mean 9.2 °C (based on 409 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Fonte Biblio. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00617 (0.00547 - 0.00695), b=3.06 (3.02 - 3.10), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Fonte Biblio. 69278):  4.4   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 5.3 (4.4 - 6.8) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 23 growth studies.
Resilienza (Fonte Biblio. 120179):  Medio, tempo minimo di raddoppiamento della popolazione 1.4 - 4.4 anni (rm=1.1-1.6(?); K=0.07-0.74; tm=1-4; tmax=20; Fec>100,000).
Prior r = 0.49, 95% CL = 0.33 - 0.74, Based on 20 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (67 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate to high vulnerability (47 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 18 [9, 36] mg/100g; Iron = 0.2 [0.1, 0.6] mg/100g; Protein = 18 [16, 20] %; Omega3 = 1 [0, 2] g/100g; Selenium = 17.8 [8.2, 36.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 11.9 [3.0, 48.0] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.242 [0.129, 0.709] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.