Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)

Scientific name: Anarhichas lupus Linnaeus, 1758

Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)

The Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus) is a marine fish of the family Anarhichadidae.

Biology

Inhabit rocky bottoms, sometimes over sand or mud, from 1-500 m. Benthic. Feeds on fishes, hard-shelled mollusks, crabs, lobsters, sea urchins and other echinoderms. Solitary in habit. Marketed fresh and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Anarhichas lupus
Family
Anarhichadidae (Wolffishes)
Order
Perciformes (Perch-like fish)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
150
Depth range
1–600 m (3–1969 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range 1 - 600 m, usually 18 - 110 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Northeast Atlantic: Spitsbergen southward to White Sea, Scandinavian coasts, North Sea, the British Isles, also Iceland and south-eastern coasts of Greenland. Northwest Atlantic: southern Labrador in Canada and western Greenland to Cape Cod in Massachusetts, USA; rarely to New Jersey, USA. Elsewhere in the Baltic Sea (east to R?gen and Bornholm Islands), Bay of Biscay and northwestern Mediterranean (Gulf of Genoa).
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Uses
Fisheries: highly commercial; aquaculture: experimental; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience
Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (K=0.04-0.1; tm=6-7; Fec=12,740-25,000)

More other marine fish

See all other marine fish

Sources

Taxonomy, distribution and biology data: FishBase (Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds.), licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

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