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| | FAO Names | | En - Norway pout, Fr - Tacaud norvégien, Sp - Faneca noruega. |
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3Alpha Code: NOP Taxonomic Code: 1480403201 |
| Scientific Name with Original Description | | | Gadus esmarkii Nilsson, 1855, Scand.Fauna 4:565. |
| Diagnostic Features
| | | Lower jaw slightly longer than upper. Greatest body depth less than head length.
Colour: grey-brown dorsally, sides silvery belly white; a dark blotch at upper edge of pectoral base.
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| Geographical Distribution | |
| | Southwest Barents Sea, sometimes at Bear Island, south to the English Channel, around Iceland, and at the Faeroe Islands. |
| Habitat and Biology | | Benthopelagic to pelagic over muddy bottomsat depths of 50-300 m, but mostly found between 100 and 200 m.
First maturity is reached at 2 years (l4 to 15 cm) and sex ratio of adults in the North Sea is 93 males: 57 females. A 15 to 19 cm fish lays 27 000 to 51 200 eggs; the spawning period extends from January to July (mostly from March to May). Migrates for spawning between the Shetland Islands and Norway and out of the Skagerrak, the mayor spawning grounds being located between NW Scotland, Norway, Faeroe Islands and Iceland.
Growth is rapid: at 1 year,13 cm; 2 years,19 cm; 3 years, 21 cm; maximun age is 4 to 5 years.It is a pelagic feeder, mostly on planktonic crustaceans (copepods, euphausids, shrimps, amphipods) but also on small fish and various eggs and larvae. |
| Size | | | An exceptional specimen reached 35 cm; however, less than 20 cm is the more ordinary size. |
| Interest to Fisheries | |
Global Capture production for
Trisopterus esmarkii
(FAO Fishery Statistic) |  | 
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The catch reported for 1987 in the FAO Yearbook of Fishery Statistics was 208 864 t, down from 428 374 t in 1979. Major exploiting countries are Denmark (ca.119 000 t), Norway (ca. 81 000 t) and the Faeroe Islands (ca.10 000 t), using bottom trawls and Danish seines. The major fishing grounds are the northern North Sea and Skagerrak and to a lesser extent, the Norwegian More coast, between 100 and 250 m depth. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 112 556 t. The countries with the largest catches were Denmark (57 441 t) and Norway (51 067 t).
Used mainly for fish meal and oil. | |  Related Fishing Techniques |
| Local Names | | | FRANCE :
Mostelle de fond ,
Tacaud norvégien . |
| NORWAY :
Ogerpal ,
Skellbrosme . |
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Bibliography Andriashev, 1954 Raitt, 1968a Svetovidov, 1948 |
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Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nationsfor a world without hunger
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