Roughhead grenadier (Macrourus berglax) COSEWIC assessment and status report: chapter 10

Special Significance of the Species

Macrourus berglax is the only species belonging to this genus that is found in Atlantic Canada (Scott & Scott, 1988), and indeed in the whole of the North Atlantic. Cohen et al. (1990) recognize three other species of Macrourus: M. carinatus, M. holotrachys, and M. whitsoni, all of which are found only at higher latitudes in the southern hemisphere. The decline of the roundnose grenadier fishery increased the economic significance of the roughhead grenadier, making it today the primary grenadier species fished in the western North Atlantic, though it is taken mainly as by-catch rather than in a directed fishery.

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