Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglafinas)

Haddock (Melanogrammusaeglafinas) – a schooling bottom sea fish of Gadidae family. The back is dark gray with a purply hue with light sides and a milky-white belly. The lateral line is black with big black spots on each side opposite the foremost back fin. The body length is up to 1 m (usually 50–75 cm long), and the weight is up to 20 kg. H. occurs in the Northern Atlantic, in the Barents Sea occasionally found in the White and Baltic seas. H. occurs near the sea bottom at the depths of 30–200 m, seldom down to 1000 m. H. matures when 4–5 years of age, some do when 6 years of age. H. spawn from April till June off the north-east coast of Norway. The breeding performance is 0.17–1.8 million eggs. The eggs are pelagic, the larvae and the young being dispersed by the currents. The young often keep under the hoods of major jellyfishes (Cyanea). The fully grown H. feed on the benthic invertebrates (echinoderms, shellfish, worms, crustaceans), more seldom on the fish. H. engages in...