Patagonian Grenadier
Macruronus magellanicus
About This Species
This slender, silvery fish lives on the seabed of the continental shelf and slope off Patagonia and the Falkland Islands, well beyond the reach of shore-based or snorkel observation. It is known mainly through commercial trawl fisheries and research surveys rather than direct sightings, and there is no established recreational way to watch it in the wild. Anyone wanting to see the species is realistically limited to specimens landed at fishing ports or displayed in aquaria and natural history collections.
Ethical Viewing Guidelines
- Because this is a deep-water species encountered almost exclusively through commercial fishing rather than in-person viewing, standard wildlife approach distances do not really apply.
- Any handling of landed or preserved specimens should follow the fishery or institution's own safety and hygiene protocols rather than wildlife-watching guidance.
- Its stock status is not formally evaluated, so the cautious approach is to favour seafood from fisheries that follow science-based catch limits.
NEGadiformesMerlucciidae
Seasonal Activity
364,853 sightings · 2000–2022
Citizen science records via GBIF
All monthsThis month
Classification
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Order
- Gadiformes
- Family
- Merlucciidae
Photo
The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London / GBIF
CC-BY-4.0
Occurrence data from GBIF.