The common ling (''Molva molva''), also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
Lotidae
The Lotidae are a family of cod-like fishes commonly known as lings or rocklings. They are found in the Arctic, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans. Except for a few species of ''Gaidropsarus'', all are restricted to the Northern Hemisphere. All speci ...
, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, '' Genypterus blacodes'', from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as to the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in
lye
A lye is a metal hydroxide traditionally obtained by leaching wood ashes, or a strong alkali which is highly soluble in water producing caustic basic solutions. "Lye" most commonly refers to sodium hydroxide (NaOH), but historically has been u ...
, while the
roe
Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
is a delicacy in Spain.
Description
The common ling is the longest and one of the largest of the cod-like fish, the
Gadiformes
Gadiformes are an order of ray-finned fish, also called the Anacanthini, that includes the cod. Many major food fish are in this order. They are found in marine waters throughout the world and the vast majority of the species are found in tempe ...
, which can reach lengths of 200 cm and weights of 30 kg. It is long and slender with a small head and small eyes and a large mouth, which has large teeth, with the upper jaw projecting beyond the lower jaw, which bears an obvious sensory barbel. Of the two dorsal fins, the anterior dorsal fin is short, having 14–15 fin rays, with a rounded profile, while the posterior dorsal fin is much longer with 61–68 fin rays and is uniform in height and is similar in length to the anal fin. The anal fin is also elongated and has 58-64 fin rays. The
vertebra
The spinal column, a defining synapomorphy shared by nearly all vertebrates, Hagfish are believed to have secondarily lost their spinal column is a moderately flexible series of vertebrae (singular vertebra), each constituting a characteristi ...
l count of this species is between 63 and 65 vertebrae. The
caudal peduncle
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as see ...
and the pelvic fins are short, with the pelvic fin not reaching past the
pectoral fin
Fins are distinctive anatomical features composed of bony spines or rays protruding from the body of a fish. They are covered with skin and joined together either in a webbed fashion, as seen in most bony fish, or similar to a flipper, as ...
s. The dorsum is a marbled greenish-brown, sometimes reddish-brown on the most upper part, lightening on the flanks and underside. A distinct white edge is seen on the anal and dorsal fins and they have a dark spot at their posterior end. However, the spot on the anterior dorsal fin is more conspicuous than that on the posterior dorsal fin. The juvenile fish tend to be lighter in colour than adults and are often marked with pale purplish iridescent lines. A common ling measuring in length was caught off Shetland on 24 February 2013. This is the largest ling ever caught on rod and line in British waters.
Distribution
The common ling is a North Atlantic species found in the further eastern coast of Canada, southern Greenland, Iceland, and the north-eastern Atlantic from the
Barents Sea
The Barents Sea ( , also ; no, Barentshavet, ; russian: Баренцево море, Barentsevo More) is a marginal sea of the Arctic Ocean, located off the northern coasts of Norway and Russia and divided between Norwegian and Russian territo ...
, around the coasts of the UK, becoming scarcer towards the south, and north-western Europe, south to the Straits of Gibraltar and into the north-western coasts of the Mediterranean Sea. It is rare in the Mediterranean and in the North Sea, where it occurs as far east as the
Skagerrak
The Skagerrak (, , ) is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the southeast coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea area through the Danish Straits to the Baltic Sea.
T ...
and
Kattegat
The Kattegat (; sv, Kattegatt ) is a sea area bounded by the Jutlandic peninsula in the west, the Danish Straits islands of Denmark and the Baltic Sea to the south and the provinces of Bohuslän, Västergötland, Halland and Skåne in Sweden ...
.
Habitat and biology
The common ling is a demersal species that can be found over rocky substrates from 15 to 600 m or more in depth; it is most common between 100 and 400 m. The juveniles, less than 2 years old, are coastal, occurring in depths of 15–20 m, and
pelagic
The pelagic zone consists of the water column of the open ocean, and can be further divided into regions by depth (as illustrated on the right). The word ''pelagic'' is derived . The pelagic zone can be thought of as an imaginary cylinder or w ...
; at 3 years, they migrate to deeper areas. Sexual maturity is attained at 5 years for males, at a length of around 80 cm and 5 or 6 years for females when they are between 90 and 100 cm in length. The spawning period runs from March to July and the eggs and larvae are pelagic. Each female may carry 20 to 60 million eggs. The main spawning areas are found at depths of 200 m from the Bay of Biscay to the Norwegian Sea, at depths of 100 to 300 m off southern Iceland, and at 50 to 300 m in the Mediterranean Sea. They grow rapidly, gaining 8–10 cm in length per year, a 1-year-old fish has a typical length of 20 cm, 2-year-olds 31–35 cm. The females grow at a faster rate than the males. The maximum recorded lifespan is 10 years for males and 14 for females, at which age they attain a length around 200 cm.
Common ling is mainly a solitary and benthic species, which hides among rocks, crevices, and wrecks in deep water, although they are often free swimming in deep water. They are mainly
piscivorous
A piscivore () is a carnivorous animal that eats primarily fish. The name ''piscivore'' is derived . Piscivore is equivalent to the Greek-derived word ichthyophage, both of which mean "fish eater". Fish were the diet of early tetrapod evoluti ...
and their main prey include species such as ''
Trisopterus esmarkii
''Trisopterus esmarkii'', the Norway pout, is a species of fish in the cod family. It is found in the Barents Sea, North Sea, Baltic Sea, off the coasts of Norway, Iceland, the British Isles and elsewhere in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. It pre ...
'',
Atlantic cod
The Atlantic cod (''Gadus morhua'') is a benthopelagic fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling.Atlantic herring, and flatfish, but they also feed on crustaceans (e.g.
European lobster
''Homarus gammarus'', known as the European lobster or common lobster, is a species of clawed lobster from the eastern Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea and parts of the Black Sea. It is closely related to the American lobster, ''H. americ ...
The ling is edible; it is marketed in fresh, salted, or dried forms, and used as fishmeal. The salted
roe
Roe ( ) or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses, of fish and certain marine animals such as shrimp, scallop, sea urchins and squid. As a seafood, roe is used both as a cooked in ...
of the ling is considered a delicacy in
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and is known as ''huevas de maruca''. Ling can be made into ''
lutefisk
''Lutefisk'' ( Norwegian, in Northern and parts of Central Norway, in Southern Norway; sv, lutfisk ; fi, lipeäkala ; literally " lye fish") is dried whitefish (normally cod, but ling and burbot are also used). It is made from aged sto ...
''. The common ling is targeted by commercial fisheries using trawls, although long lines are used in some mainland European- and Faroese-based fisheries. 702 pp This is a deep-water species and its swim bladder is badly damaged by being brought up to the surface from the depths; the advice for sport anglers is, therefore, that boat-caught ling should not be returned to the sea and that they should stop fishing when enough have been caught for the table. The stock is thought to be reasonably good, but the IUCN has stated that no data are available on the population size or any population trends, that the population in the Mediterranean Sea may be marginal, with the major portion of its global range in the Atlantic. So, no data are available to allow a determination the status of the ling beyond data deficient. Ling is regarded as a "fish to avoid" for consumers by the
Marine Conservation Society
The Marine Conservation Society is a UK based not-for-profit organization working with businesses, governments and communities to clean and protect the oceans. Founded in 1983, the group claims to be working towards "cleaner, better-protected, h ...
because it is trawled. In 1999, the total catch of common ling reported to the
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
was 53,870 tonnes and the countries with the largest landings were Norway with 19,215 tonnes and the United Kingdom with 11,350 tonnes.