European conger (Conger conger)

Scientific name: Conger conger Linnaeus, 1758

European conger (Conger conger)

The European conger (Conger conger) is a marine fish of the family Congridae. Native range: Eastern Atlantic, Norway and Iceland to Senegal. Also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.

Biology

Found on rocky and sandy bottoms. Depth range from 0-500 m and from 305-1171 m in the eastern Ionian Sea. It stays near the coast when young and moves toward deeper waters upon reaching adulthood. A nocturnal predator of fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods. Marketed fresh and frozen. Eaten fried and baked. Like other species of the group, it reproduces only once in its life. Sexually mature at an age of 5-15 years. Spawn in summer in the Atlantic off Portugal and in the Mediterranean. Produces 3-8 million of eggs.

Source: FishBase, licensed CC BY-NC 4.0.

Species facts

Scientific name
Conger conger
Family
Congridae (Conger and garden eels)
Order
Anguilliformes (Eels and Morays)
Class
Actinopterygii (Ray-finned fishes)
Maximum length
300
Common length
150
Depth range
0–1171 m (0–3842 ft)
Environment
Marine; demersal; oceanodromous; depth range 0 - 1171 m
Climate
Temperate
Distribution
Eastern Atlantic: Norway and Iceland to Senegal. Also in the Mediterranean and Black Sea.
Conservation status (IUCN)
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Reports of ciguatera poisoning
Uses
Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes; aquarium: public aquariums
Resilience
Very Low, minimum population doubling time more than 14 years (K=0.06; tm=5-15 (female tm>10); Fec=3,000,000)

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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