Blue grenadier

Blue grenadier
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Gadiformes
Family:	Merlucciidae
Subfamily:	Merlucciinae
Genus:	Macruronus
Species:	M. novaezelandiae
Binomial name
Macruronus novaezelandiae (Hector, 1871)

The blue grenadier, hoki, blue hake, New Zealand whiptail, whiptail or whiptail hake, Macruronus novaezelandiae, is a merluccid hake of the family Merlucciidae found around southern Australia and New Zealand at depths of between 10 and 1,000 m (33 and 3,300 ft). Its length is between 60 and 120 cm (24 and 47 in). The meat of the fish is white.

Commercial use

The hoki is one of the species used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish, Fish Fingers and McFish sandwiches.^[1][2] It was previously served at Long John Silver's and Denny's restaurants in the United States, and continues to be served at Denny's in New Zealand.^[1]

Sustainable consumption

Blue grenadier filet with rice, dill and mustard sauce.

The blue grenadier is the subject of a large commercial fishery industry in New Zealand, which has been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well-managed and sustainable in March 2001. New Zealand has established a fishing quota of about 100,000 tons.^[1] The first MSC certification ended in April 2007. Reassessment of the certification commenced in early 2005 and finished in October 2007.^[3] A 2009 New York Times article raised questions over the sustainability of blue grenadier fishing practices around New Zealand, though its conclusions were disputed by New Zealand representatives.^[4] However, recent quotas on catches have declined by nearly 2/3 from 275,000 to 100,000 tons.

In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the blue grenadier (hoki) to its seafood red list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in supermarkets around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."^[5]

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Broad, William (September 9, 2009), "From Deep Pacific, Ugly and Tasty, With a Catch", New York Times, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/science/10fish.html 
2. ^ Vasquez, Michael (August 24, 2009), "Fish or Fake? DNA Researcher Puts the 'Filet-O-Fish' to the Test", Miami Herald, http://www.miamiherald.com/living/story/1199523.html 
3. ^ "Meet the fishers." Marine Stewardship Council. No date. Accessed 2009-09-10
4. ^ Gaines, Richard (September 22, 2009), "New York Times' report on food fish raises New Zealand industry's ire", Gloucester Daily Times, http://www.gloucestertimes.com/punews/local_story_265000018.html 
5. ^ Greenpeace International Seafood Red list

Further reading

• Froese, Rainer, and Daniel Pauly, eds. (2006). "Macruronus novaezelandiae" in FishBase. April 2006 version.
• Ayling, Tony & Cox, Geoffrey (1982), Collins Guide to the Sea Fishes of New Zealand, Auckland, New Zealand: William Collins Publishers, ISBN 0002169878 

External links

• World Aquaculture's Hoki Profile