Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Marine; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range 0 - 800 m (Ref. 27549). Temperate; 60°N - 28°N, 82°W - 43°W
Western Atlantic: New Foundland and Labrador in Canada to northeastern Florida in USA, but uncommon in nearshore waters south of North Carolina, USA.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm 46.5  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 120 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 7251); common length : 90.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 3787); max. published weight: 22.6 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 30 years (Ref. 796)
Inhabits continental shelf, occurring deeper in southern parts of range (Ref 7251); tolerating a wide range of temperature (0-21°C) (Ref. 5951).
That testes seem to develop earlier and stay ripe longer suggest multiple spawning by males. Eggs are laid in long, ribbon-shaped veils (Ref. 4842).
Robins, C.R. and G.C. Ray, 1986. A field guide to Atlantic coast fishes of North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, U.S.A. 354 p. (Ref. 7251)
IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; gamefish: yes
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Estimates based on models
Preferred temperature (Ref.
123201): 0.6 - 9.9, mean 5 °C (based on 189 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref.
82804): PD
50 = 0.5078 [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.01380 (0.01040 - 0.01833), b=2.98 (2.90 - 3.06), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref.
93245).
Trophic level (Ref.
69278): 4.5 ±0.3 se; based on diet studies.
Generation time: 11.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2
growth studies.
Resilience (Ref.
120179): Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.06-0.1; tmax=30; Fec=300,000).
Prior r = 0.08, 95% CL = 0.05 - 0.12, Based on 1 full stock assessment.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref.
59153): Very high vulnerability (77 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref.
125649): Moderate vulnerability (41 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref.
124155): Calcium = 17.5 [9.6, 30.9] mg/100g; Iron = 0.322 [0.195, 0.508] mg/100g; Protein = 20.6 [16.9, 23.2] %; Omega3 = 0.524 [0.201, 1.355] g/100g; Selenium = 16.1 [5.1, 55.8] μg/100g; VitaminA = 15.4 [5.1, 48.2] μg/100g; Zinc = 0.253 [0.127, 0.797] mg/100g (wet weight);