Brosme brosme (Ascanius, 1772)
Torsk
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Torsk inhabits deep waters over hard substrata between 100 and 1000m. They are distributed from the eastern North Atlantic, the British Isles to the western Barents Sea, Iceland, Skagereak, Kattegat and the western North Atlantic. Reproduction takes place in shallow waters, usually at 100 to 200 m from May to July (Whitehead et al., 1989).
Brosme brosme is distinguished from other cod fish by its long chin barbel, long uniformly high, single dorsal and anal fins, and rounded tail. While the colour is a variable brownish grey, it has a distinct fin pattern on the dorsal and anal fins of a black band near the margin, edged with white (Whitehead et al., 1986a).
During the present survey, torsk were recorded from the Sula Reef, the Porcupine areas and the Hurtside wreck. They were observed on and over the reefs, and resting on the seabed adjacent to it. They did not appear to be disturbed by the presence of the camera.
As with many of the cod fish, the torsk is of some commercial importance. Small landings are made from trawling and long-lining (Wheeler 1985).
Torsk appear to have only recently been removed from the family Gadidae and placed in the family Lotidae, which has been elevated from subfamily level (Costello et al., 2001).
There is more information available for this species in FishBase.
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