Rock Cod - PAR

Common Names

Rock cod, Marujo, Notothenia

Scientific Name

Patagonotothen spp.

Description

Solid bodied, elongate and compressed. Head small to moderate with large eyes. Interorbital width moderate to narrow. Two lateral lines, upper line beginning at opercle and ending below the posterior end of the second dorsal fin, or may extend almost to end of peduncle; lower line shorter, running from posterior of pectoral fin to end of tail. Numerous head pores present in cephalic lateral line canals. Gill rakers short, with pseudobranchiae present. Pectoral fin rounded. Pelvic fin situated extremely anterior to level of pectoral fin base. First dorsal fin low and rounded, with a short base. Second dorsal fin short, with a long base. Anal fin base slightly shorter than second dorsal fin base. Caudal fin rounded, with 12 to 17 branched rays. Colouration green, brown, or orange depending on species, with striped pattern of same colouring.

Size Range

15 - 40 cm.

Depth Range

50 to 1000 m.

Fishery Status

May be found mixed in with Loligo catches if catches are low. Notothenids were the subject of an experimental fishery on Burdwood Bank in 1989. Generally discarded as bycatch, except by the Bulgarians.

Additional Information

There are 14 species of Patagonotothen in the Patagonian and Antarctic regions. Four are commonly found within the FICZ and FOCZ.