Haddock (redirected from haddocks)

haddock: see cod.

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haddock

Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

(credit: Painting by Jean Helmer)

Valuable North American food fish (Melanogrammus aeglefinus, family Gadidae). A bottom-dweller that feeds on invertebrates and fishes, it resembles the cod, with its chin barbel (fleshy feeler) and two anal and three dorsal fins, but is distinguished by a dark (rather than light) lateral line and a distinctive dark spot on each shoulder. It is gray or brownish above, paler below. It grows to about 3 ft (90 cm) long and 25 lbs (11 kg).

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haddock

a North Atlantic gadoid food fish, Melanogrammus aeglefinus: similar to but smaller than the cod

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haddock [′had·ək]

(vertebrate zoology)

Melanogrammus aeglefinus.A fish of the family Gadidae characterized by a black lateral line and a dark spot behind the gills.

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Haddock 

(Melanogrammus aeglefinus), a fish of the family Gadidae. Haddock reach a length of 70 cm and a weight of 3 kg. The fish are dark above and have a silver abdomen and silver sides. There is a black spot on each side above the pectoral fin. The mouth is inferior.

Haddock are found in the boreal regions of the Atlantic Ocean. They are numerous in the North Sea (near Iceland), in the southern part of the Barents Sea, and off Grand Bank, Newfoundland. The fish deposit pelagic roe. The fry live in deep waters, often finding shelter under the bell of jellyfish. Adult forms live close to the bottom and feed on benthos and the roe of herring and capelin.

In the North Sea, haddock reach sexual maturity in two or three years; in the Barents Sea, sexual maturity is attained after five to seven years. The migration of haddock is particularly of note in the Barents Sea: the young fish are carried by northern cape currents away from the northern coast of Norway; after reaching sexual maturity, the fish travel to the Lofoten Islands for spawning.

Haddock are commercially valuable fish.