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Brosme brosme (Ascanius, 1772)

Cusk
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Brosme brosme   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Brosme brosme (Cusk)
Brosme brosme
Picture by Østergaard, T.

Common names from other countries

Brosme, Brosmio, 单鳍鳕, ... more

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

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Lotidae (Hakes and burbots)
Etymology: Brosme: Greek, brosomai, bibrosko = to eat up, to devour (Ref. 45335).

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

Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 18 - 1000 m (Ref. 1371), usually 18 - 549 m (Ref. 1371).   Temperate; 83°N - 37°N, 75°W - 57°E (Ref. 1371)

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

Northwest Atlantic: New Jersey to the Strait of Belle Isle and on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. Rare at the southern tip of Greenland. Northeast Atlantic: off Iceland, in the northern North Sea, and along the coast of Scandinavia to the Murmansk Coast and at Spitzbergen.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 53.3, range 50 - ? cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 9988); common length : 50.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 30.0 kg (Ref. 9988); max. reported age: 20 years (Ref. 1371)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 93 - 103; Anal soft rays: 62 - 75; Vertebrae: 64 - 67. Barbel on present on chin, none on snout, its length equal to eye diameter. Color is variable; dorsally dark red-brown or green brown to yellow shading into pale color on belly. Young specimens may have six transverse yellow bands on sides. Vertical fins with dark margin rimmed with white.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in small shoals on rough, rock, gravel, or pebble bottoms. Generally keeps far from the shore, near the bottom, mostly between 150 and 450 m in the northeastern Atlantic, and between 18 and 550 m in the northwestern Atlantic. Occurs at a temperature range of 0°-10° C (Ref. 9988). Solitary or in small groups. Feeds on crustaceans and shellfishes, benthic fishes (flatfishes and gurnard) and even on starfishes. Preyed upon by seals (Ref. 9988). Sold fresh, frozen as fillets or dried salted. Eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

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

Spawns in shallower waters between 40-400 m, usually 100 to 200 m. Most important spawning grounds are located between Scotland and Iceland, from 200 to 500 m depth. In the Gulf of Maine, spawning grounds can be found in shallower waters (>50 m). Some individuals even spawn close inshore in Cape Cod, Provincetown Harbor and the Isles of Shoals (Ref. 1371).

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)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | RFE Identification | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.5 - 7.7, mean 3.6 (based on 726 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00550 (0.00402 - 0.00751), b=3.09 (3.00 - 3.18), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.9   ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.08-0.16; tm=8-10; tmax=20; Fec=2 million).
Prior r = 0.45, 95% CL = 0.30 - 0.68, Based on 9 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (58 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (44 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.