| Synonyms | | | | Muraena conger Linnaeus, 1758: 245 (original description), [Artedi, 1738]. | | | Anguilla conger Shaw, 1803: 20. | | | Muraena nigra Risso, 1810: 93. | | | Conger verus Risso, 1826: 201. | | | Conger vulgaris Yarrell, 1831: 158. | | | Conger rubescens Ranzani, 1840: 82. | | | Conger communis Costa, 1844-1845: 2. |
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| FAO Names | | En - European conger, Fr - Congre d'Europe, Sp - Congrio común. |
| 3Alpha Code: COE Taxonomic Code: 1431300101 |
| Diagnostic Features | | | Snake-like body, scaleless, slightly compressed anteriorly, well compressed posteriorly to anus, the latter before midpoint of body; dorsal outline of head convex, depressed over eye. Eye small, inter-orbital space broad and flat. Anterior nostril an oval pore, before and near eye. Mouth rictus at level of posterior edge of eye; snout slightly prominent; very large labial flange. In both jaws, an outer row of big incisiform teeth, close set, forming a cutting edge and inner row of small conical and sharp teeth; larger conical teeth on premaxilary palate and vomer. Gill openings sublateral, crescentiform. Lateral line: 44-47 preanal pores, 6 prepectoral; only one supra-temporal pore. Vertebrae: total 148-153; abdominal 53-57. Colour more or less dark grey or brown; lighter ventrally, lateral line pores marked with white; dorsal and anal fins with a black margin. |
| Geographical Distribution | |
| | Eastern North Atlantic northward to Norway, also Mediterranean and western Black Sea. Elsewhere, southward to Senegal, including the Canary Islands, Azores and Madeira. |
| Habitat and Biology | | Benthic on the shelf on rocky or sandy bottoms at0-500 m.Many young, small fish can be caught in deep shore pools, particularly those with dense algal cover low down the shore. In soft-bottomed areas few congers are found, but they quickly colonize sunken wrecks, harbour walls, and loose stone groynes, and many can be caught in such man-made habitats.The conger's food consists of a wide range of mainly bottom-living fishes, large crustaceans, especially crabs, and octopuses.
Sexual maturity at 5-15 years old; spawning in summer, 3-8 million eggs per individual. Males generally mature at about 50-75 cm. Females at about 2 m. |
| Size | | | A maximum length of 3 m and a weight of 65 kg is attained; common from 60 to 150 cm. Males usually smaller than females. |
| Interest to Fisheries | | Global Capture production for
Conger conger
(FAO Fishery Statistic) |  |   |
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Caught with bottom trawl, hooks and lines gear. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 16 170 t. The countries with the largest catches were France (4 412 t) and Spain (4 029 t).
Marketed fresh and frozen. Eaten fried and baked. | |  Related Fishing Techniques |
| Local Names | | | Arabic : Congro , Congre , Congri , Grengue , Gringou , Hnech , Selbah , Selbah el bhar . |
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Bibliography Bauchot, M.-L. & L. Saldanha - 1986 Congride. In : P.J.P. Whitehead et al., (eds.).Fishes of the North-eastern Atlantic and the Mediterranean (FNAM). Unesco, Paris, Vol. II: 567-574. Bini, G. - 1965Catálogo de los nombres de peces, moluscos y crustáceos de importancia comercial en el Mediterráneo. FAO, Rome: i-xv + 407 pp. Blache, J., M. -L. Bauchot & L. Saldanha - 1973 Congride. In :J. C. Hureau & Th. Monod (eds.). Check-list of the fishes of the north-eastern Atlantic and of the Mediterranean (CLOFNAM). Unesco, Paris, Vol. I: 239-243. Djabali, F., B. Brahmi & M. Mammasse. - 1993 Poissons des cotes Algeriennes. Bulletin de l'Institut des Sciences de la Mer et de l'Aménagement du littoral. 215 pp. Fishbase: ICLARM . Lloris, D., J. Rucabado, LL del cerro, F. Portas, M. Demestre & A. Roig. - 1984Tots els peixos del mar Catalàn.I: Llistat de Cites i de referències. Treballs Soc. Cat. Ict. Herp., 1: 1-208. Smith, D. G. - 1990 . Congridae. In: J. C. Quero et al., (eds.). Check-list of the fishes of the eastern tropical Atlantic (CLOFETA). UNESCO, JNICT-Portugal, Vol. I: 156-168. Wheeler, A. - 1978Key to the Fishes of Northern Europe. A guide to the identification of more than 350 species. Frederick Warne (Publishers) Ltd., London. 380 pp. |
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