You can sponsor this page

Macruronus novaezelandiae (Hector, 1871)

Blue grenadier
Add your observation in Fish Watcher
Native range | All suitable habitat | Point map | Year 2050
This map was computer-generated and has not yet been reviewed.
Macruronus novaezelandiae   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
Upload your photos and videos
 Pictures | Google image
Image of Macruronus novaezelandiae (Blue grenadier)
Macruronus novaezelandiae
Picture by SeaFIC

Australia country information

Common names: Blue grenadier, Blue grenadier, Blue hake
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: abundant (always seen in some numbers) | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Importance: commercial | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Aquaculture: never/rarely | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Regulations: restricted | Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
Uses: no uses
Comments: Distributed through southern Australian waters from Broken Bay, New South Wales (Ref. 7300 ) to the western region of the Great Australian Bight (Ref. 26611). Electrophoretic studies of Australian blue grenadier indicate a single Australian stock. However, Australian and New Zealand samples may have significant differences due to genetic isolation of the 2 groups (Ref. 26612). Commercial fishery: The Australian blue grenadier fishery has operated since the late 1970s when the first large catches were taken in Tasmanian waters. The fishery has since become an important component of the South East Fishery with catches ranging between 1500 and 2800 t liveweight. A small amount (up to 50 t per year) of blue grenadier is caught by trawlers in the Great Australian Bight Trawl Fishery. Blue grenadier are caught throughout the South East Fishery by vessels using demersal otter trawl gear in depths of 300 to 600 m (Ref. 26613) but the main fishing ground is located near the spawning area off western Tasmania (Ref. 26566). Fishers also catch significant quantities throughout the year in southern and south-eastern Tasmanian waters and off Portland on the Victorian coast (Ref. 26613). Mid-water trawling for blue grenadier has also been tried. Most of the blue grenadier catch results from targeted fishing. Blue grenadier are usually sold on the domestic fresh fish market. The fish are mainly processed as fillets or cutlets; however there is potential for development of markets for manufactured fish products ('surimi') which utilise blue grenadier. Some of the blue grenadier catch is also exported as frozen fillets to the United States. Recreational fishery: Blue grenadiers are infrequently caught by anglers. Resource status: There are no reliable estimates of stock size for this species. However, 1992 estimates of sustainable yields for blue grenadier suggest that the Australian fishery may be able to sustain catches higher than historic catch levels (Ref. 26566). Also Ref. 9988, 58452.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/as.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.csiro.au/
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Kailola, P.J., M.J. Williams, P.C. Stewart, R.E. Reichelt, A. McNee and C. Grieve, 1993
National Database:

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 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).

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)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO(Fisheries: production; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

More information

Countries
FAO areas
Ecosystems
Occurrences
Introductions
Stocks
Ecology
Diet
Food items
Food consumption
Ration
Common names
Synonyms
Metabolism
Predators
Ecotoxicology
Reproduction
Maturity
Spawning
Fecundity
Eggs
Egg development
Age/Size
Growth
Length-weight
Length-length
Length-frequencies
Morphometrics
Morphology
Larvae
Larval dynamics
Recruitment
Abundance
References
Aquaculture
Aquaculture profile
Strains
Genetics
Electrophoreses
Heritability
Diseases
Processing
Mass conversion
Collaborators
Pictures
Stamps, Coins Misc.
Sounds
Ciguatera
Speed
Swim. type
Gill area
Otoliths
Brains
Vision

Tools

E-book | Field guide | Length-frequency wizard | Life-history tool | Point map | Classification Tree | Catch-MSY |

Special reports

Check for Aquarium maintenance | Check for Species Fact Sheets | Check for Aquaculture Fact Sheets

Download XML

Summary page | Point data | Common names | Photos

Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | 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 | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 5.8 - 12.5, mean 8 (based on 300 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5625   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00389 (0.00219 - 0.00690), b=2.98 (2.82 - 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.
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 = 0.31, 95% CL = 0.20 - 0.49, Based on 4 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.