Haddock

haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, a fish of the cod family which is of commercial importance on both sides of the N. Atlantic. Its range descends as far as the Bay of Biscay in the east and New England in the west, but it may venture a little further south in the summer. Specimens over a metre (40") in length have been recorded, but the normal maximum is 80 cm (32") and the market length 40–60 cm (16–24").

This fish has a dark greenish-brown or purplish-grey back, with a black lateral line and a ‘thumbprint’ on each side. In this last particular it resembles the john Dory, and there are traces in popular names and traditions of its being thought to be the fish which St Peter picked up; which it could not be as it is not found in the Mediterranean, still less in the Sea of Galilee.