southern blue whiting
Micromesistius australis
Schooling fish of the slope of Argentine Patagonia, the Falklands and Chile. It is heavily fished by commercial fleets and almost never appears for anglers using rods.
Also called: pescada-azul-austral, polaca, pescada de tres aletas, southern blue whiting
- maximum
- 90 cm
- record/max.
- 0.8 kg
- depth
- 200–400 m
who is the southern blue whiting
Fish of the family Gadidae, the cods. It reaches 90 cm and lives in deep sea, between 50 and 900 m, but is mostly found between 200 and 400 m. In summer the school rises to the shelf, and in winter it descends to the slope. It also occurs near South Georgia, South Shetland and South Orkney Islands. It is heavily fished by commercial fleets, and the species almost never reaches rod fishing.
Essential profile. Identification, where it occurs and rules, with data from FishBase and the cited regulations. Season, time of day, technique and bait are added once we have a good source for the southern blue whiting.
fun facts
- Juveniles feed on euphausiids and amphipods, small crustaceans.
identification
Elongated, rounded body, with long dorsal and anal fins, a trait common to the cod family. The name used in Chile, three-finned, recalls the three dorsal fins of gadids. It lives on the slope and, part of the year, on the outer shelf, at depths sport fishing usually does not reach. It forms schools, and adults mainly stay between 200 and 400 m.
Loading the next 7 days…
Each card shows the day's index (0 to 100) and, below it, a strip with the index for each hour, from 0h to 23h. from poor to excellent.
Essential profile: the index uses a general fish model (weather, sun, moon and tide), without a season or time of day specific to this species.
where found
In Latin America it occurs in Argentine Patagonia, the Falklands, Uruguay and off Chile.
Habitat: Slope and outer shelf, between 200 and 400 m, on bottoms down to 900 m.
rules for the southern blue whiting
Summary of the regulations we found, with the source for each. Rules change; before keeping or transporting fish, check with the state environmental agency.
We found no species-specific rule beyond the region's general rules.
catch and release
catch and release Releasing the fish alive, quickly and with a wet hand. During a closed season it isn't always allowed: what the regulation says applies.
Not dangerous to people. It lives on deep bottoms, so it almost never reaches rod fishing.
in the kitchen
It goes to market frozen in blocks and is also turned into fishmeal, and it can be fried or baked.
how much it weighs without taking it out of the water
Length-weight relationship W = a·Lb (a = 0.00372, b = 3.15; FishBase (relação peso-comprimento bayesiana, estimativa da própria espécie)). It's an average: a fat or lean fish can vary by 10% to 20%.
estimated weight
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sources and references
Essential profile: size, length-weight, depth, countries and conservation come from FishBase and the cited regulations, and the texts were written from those sources. Season, time of day, sensitivities, technique and baits and lures are not included yet, because we did not find a good source for this species.
- scientific FishBase: Micromesistius australis (ficha da espécie)Size, length-weight, depth, habitat, distribution, biology, and IUCN status. Page checked on Oct 13, 2026.
- scientific FishBase: nomes populares de Micromesistius australisNames by country and language.