Common ling

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Use Oxford spelling|date=June 2018}} {{Speciesbox | name = Common ling | image = Molva_molva_Gervais.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name = IUCN>{{cite iucn | author = Fernandes, P.|author2= Cook, R.|author3= Florin, A.|author4= Lorance, P.|author5= Nielsen, J. |author6= Nedreaas, K. |name-list-style=amp |year=2015 |title= ''Molva molva'' (Europe assessment) |article-number= e.T198593A45132914 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> | taxon = Molva molva | authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)<ref name = FishBase>{{FishBase|Molva|molva|month=February|year=2018}}</ref> | range_map = Molva molva dis.png | range_map_caption = ''Molva molva'' range map. | synonyms = *''Gadus molva'' Linnaeus, 1758 *''Molva vulgaris'' Fleming, 1828 *''Gadus raptor'' Nilsson, 1832 *''Molva linnei'' Malm, 1877 *''Lota mola'' Moreau, 1881 }} {{Distinguish|Lingcod}} The '''common ling''' ('''''Molva molva'''''), also known as the '''white ling''' or simply the '''ling''', is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fish. 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, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.

==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, around the coasts of the UK, becoming scarcer towards the south, France, Portugal, and north-western Europe,<ref name="BSF" /> south to the Straits of Gibraltar and into the north-western coasts of the Mediterranean Sea.<ref name="FAO">{{cite book | editor1 = Daniel M. Cohen | editor2 = Tadashi Inada | editor3 = Tomio Iwamoto | editor4 = Nadia Scialabba | name-list-style = amp | year = 1990 | title = VOL.10 GADIFORM FISHES OF THE WORLD (Order Gadiformes) An Annotated and Illustrated Catalogue of Cods, Hakes, Grenadiers and other Gadiform Fishes Known to Date | publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations | isbn = 92-5-102890-7 | pages = 64–65 | url = http://www.fao.org/3/t0243e/T0243E08.pdf | access-date = 2 April 2018 }}</ref>

It is rare in the Mediterranean<ref name=Med>{{cite iucn|author=Di Natale, A.|author2= Molinari, A.|author3= Őztűrk, B. |author4= Srour, A. |name-list-style=amp |year=2011 |title= ''Molva molva'' (Mediterranean assessment) |article-number= e.T198593A9044399 |access-date=14 August 2023}}</ref> and in the North Sea, where it occurs as far east as the Skagerrak and Kattegat.<ref name = MSIP>{{cite web | url = http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=fnam&id=1404 | page = Ling (''Molva molva'') | access-date = 12 April 2018 | publisher = ETI Bioinformatics | editor = J. C. Hureau | work = Marine Species Identification Paortal | title = Fishes of the NE Atlantic and the Mediterranean}}</ref> ==Description== thumb|In Norway The common ling is the longest and one of the largest of the cod-like fish, the Gadiformes, which can reach lengths of 200 cm and weights of 30 kg. It is long and slender<ref name="Habitas">{{cite web | url = http://www.habitas.org.uk/marinelife/species.asp?item=ZG1960 | title = ''Molva molva'' (Linnaeus, 1758) | access-date = 12 April 2018 | publisher = National Museums of Northern Ireland}}</ref> with a small head and small eyes and a large mouth, which has large teeth,<ref name="Wheeler" /> 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,<ref name="Marlin" /> with a rounded profile,<ref name="Habitas" /> while the posterior dorsal fin is much longer with 61–68 fin rays<ref name="FAO" /> and is uniform in height and is similar in length to the anal fin.<ref name="Wheeler" /> The anal fin is also elongated and has 58–64 fin rays. The vertebral count of this species is between 63 and 65 vertebrae. The caudal peduncle and the pelvic fins are short, with the pelvic fin not reaching past the pectoral fins. The dorsum is a marbled greenish-brown, sometimes reddish-brown on the most upper part,<ref name="FAOSIS">{{cite web | url = http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2220/en | title = Species Fact Sheets ''Molva molva'' (Linnaeus, 1758) | access-date = 12 April 2018 | publisher = Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Fisheries and Aquaculture Department}}</ref> 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.<ref name="Marlin">{{cite web | url = http://www.marlin.ac.uk/species/detail/10 | title = Ling (''Molva molva'') | access-date = 12 April 2018 | publisher = The Marine Biological Association of the UK | author = Rowley, S. J. | year = 2008 | work = Marine Life Information Network: Biology and Sensitivity Key Information Reviews, [on-line] | editor1 = Tyler-Walters H. | editor2 = Hiscock K.}}</ref>

A common ling measuring {{convert|6|ft|cm|abbr=on}} in length was caught off Shetland on 24 February 2013.<ref name="Giant fish weighing more than 67 lbs reeled in off Shetland">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-21586100 |title=Giant fish weighing more than 67lbs reeled in off Shetland |work=BBC News |date=26 February 2013 | publisher=BBC |access-date=2013-02-26}}</ref> This is the largest ling ever caught on rod and line in British waters.<ref name="BSFBCR">{{cite web | url = http://britishseafishing.co.uk/uk-boat-caught-record-fish/ | title = UK Boat Caught Records | date = 17 July 2012 | publisher = British Sea Fishing | access-date = 11 December 2015}}</ref> ==Habitat and biology== thumb|Video of a common lingThe 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; 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<ref name = FAO/> and the eggs and larvae are pelagic.<ref name = Wheeler/> 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.<ref name = FAO/> Common ling is mainly a solitary and benthic species, which hides among rocks, crevices, and wrecks in deep water,<ref name = Marlin/> although they are often free swimming in deep water.<ref name = Wheeler>{{cite book | author = Alwyne Wheeler | author-link = Alwynne Cooper Wheeler | year = 1992 | title = The Pocket Guide to Salt Water Fishes of Britain and Europe | publisher = Parkgate Books | edition = 1997 | isbn = 1-85585-364-7 | page = 56}}</ref> They are mainly piscivorous and their main prey include species such as ''Trisopterus esmarkii'', Atlantic cod, Atlantic herring, and flatfish, but they also feed on crustaceans (e.g. European lobsters), cephalopods, and echinoderms (e.g. starfish).<ref name = FAO/><ref name = Marlin/>

==Human uses== The ling is edible; it is marketed in fresh, salted, or dried forms, and used as fishmeal.<ref name = FAOSIS/> The salted roe of the ling is considered a delicacy in Spain and is known as ''huevas de maruca''.<ref name = marucas>{{cite web | url = http://www.playasdetrafalgar.com/comer/5-delicatessen-tipicas-de-la-zona/ | title = Delicias gastronómicas típicas de Barbate y la costa de Cádiz | access-date = 13 April 2018 | publisher = Sobre PlayasdeTrafalgar.com | language = Spanish}}</ref> Ling can be made into ''lutefisk''.<ref name = "The Spruce">{{cite web | url = https://www.thespruce.com/lutefisk-fish-2952909 | title = What is the Scandinavian Food Lutefisk?| access-date = 13 April 2018 | author = Karl Diehl | date = 4 April 2018 | publisher = The Spruce}}</ref>

The common ling is targeted by commercial fisheries using trawls, although long lines are used in some mainland European- and Faroese-based fisheries.<ref name="ICES">{{cite book | title = Report of the Working Group on the Biology and Assessment of Deep-sea Fisheries Resources (WGDEEP), 24 April–1 May 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark. ICES CM 2017/ACOM:14. |publisher = International Council for the Exploration of the Sea | year = 2017 }} 702 pp</ref> 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,<ref name="BSF">{{cite web | url = https://www.britishseafishing.co.uk/ling/ | title = Ling | date = 30 August 2012 | access-date = 13 April 2018 | publisher = British Sea Fishing}}</ref> 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 of the status of the ling beyond data deficient.<ref name="Med" /> Ling is regarded as a "fish to avoid" for consumers by the Marine Conservation Society because it is trawled.<ref name="MCS">{{cite web | url = https://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/fishweek/FishWeek_FishList_Jan2011.pdf | title = Sustainable seafood at a glance | access-date = 12 April 2018 | publisher = Marine Conservation Society | archive-date = 8 March 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180308235515/https://www.mcsuk.org/downloads/fisheries/fishweek/FishWeek_FishList_Jan2011.pdf }}</ref> In 1999, the total catch of common ling reported to the Food and Agriculture Organization 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.<ref name="FAOSIS" /><gallery mode="packed" heights="160"> File:Långorna sköljas i Mollösunds fiskeläge - Nordiska museet - NMA.0034483.jpg|Lings being prepared in Mollösund, Sweden, in 1899 File:Big Molva molva.jpg|A common ling caught by an angler File:A big ling caught in the North Atlantic.jpg|A large ling caught in the North Atlantic </gallery>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category}} * {{ITIS |id=164760 |taxon=Molva molva |accessdate=19 March 2006}} * Alan Davidson. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Ling". p. 454 {{ISBN|0-19-211579-0}} * C.Michael Hogan, (2011) [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Sea_of_Hebrides?topic=49523 ''Sea of the Hebrides'']. Eds. P. Saundry & C.J.Cleveland. Encyclopedia of Earth. National Council for Science and the Environment. Washington DC. * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060115121440/http://www.seawater.no/fauna/Fisk/lange.htm Marine Fauna Gallery of Norway]

common ling Category:Spanish cuisine Category:Fish of Europe Category:Fish of the North Atlantic Category:Fauna of Atlantic Canada common ling common ling