Macruronus novaezelandiae, Blue grenadier : fisheries

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Macruronus novaezelandiae (Hector, 1871)

Blue grenadier
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Macruronus novaezelandiae   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Macruronus novaezelandiae (Blue grenadier)
Macruronus novaezelandiae
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Common names from other countries

Grenadier bleu, Cola de rata azul, Макруронус новозеландский, ... more

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Macruronidae (Blue grenadiers)
Etymology: Macruronus: Greek, makros = great + Greek, onos = hake.

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

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 1000 m (Ref. 26566), usually 200 - 700 m (Ref. 9563). Subtropical; 15°S - 55°S, 111°E - 173°W (Ref. 58452)

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

Southwest Pacific: New Zealand and southern Australia.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 67.5, 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)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

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).
Body shape (shape guide): elongated; Cross section: oval.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

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).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Female blue grenadier produce about 1 million eggs on average, which are all released at once (Ref. 6390).

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: Version 2025-1)

Not Evaluated 

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO - Fisheries: landings; Publication: search | FIRMS - Stock assessments | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Trophic ecology
Food items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Food rations
Predators
Ecology
Ecology
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Population dynamics
Growth parameters
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
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Abundance
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Reproduction
Maturity
Maturity/Gills rel.
Fecundity
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Eggs
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Larvae
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Distribution
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E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

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Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

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

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 123201): 5.8 - 12.5, mean 8 °C (based on 300 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00221 - 0.00684), b=2.97 (2.80 - 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.
Generation time: 6.1 (5.2 - 8.9) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 18 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  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 = 0.29, 95% CL = 0.19 - 0.44, Based on 3 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (66 of 100). 🛈
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (61 of 100). 🛈
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 26.4 [12.3, 56.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.629 [0.299, 1.299] mg/100g; Protein = 17.7 [15.5, 19.8] %; Omega3 = 0.224 [0.105, 0.456] g/100g; Selenium = 62.1 [26.1, 122.9] μg/100g; VitaminA = 17.2 [5.4, 54.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.541 [0.348, 0.866] mg/100g (wet weight); based on nutrient studies.