Biology of the Morid Fish Antimora rostrata in the Western North Atlantic

• Published in: Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
• Main Authors: Wenner, Charles A., Musick, John A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1977
• Subjects: General Medicine; Hake; North Atlantic
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f77-316; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f77-316

From otter trawl catches in the Middle Atlantic Bight, blue hake, Antimora rostrata, were found at depths of 790 to at least 2930 m in the Norfolk Canyon area; maximum abundance was between 1300 and 2500 m. Available data indicate that the blue hake is more abundant in the western than the eastern North Atlantic. Males were smaller in average size than females and a skewed sex–depth relationship was found with a larger percentage of the catch in shallower depths being male. In Canadian Atlantic waters A. rostrata live in water at least 500 m shallower. The Middle Atlantic continental slope may serve as a feeding habitat for this species; the reproductive and larval portions of its life history are probably completed in the northern part of its range. Key words: Antimora rostrata, bathymétrie distribution, reproduction