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Scientific name
Merlangius merlangus (Linné, 1758)
Morphology
Whiting is a slender fish with a wide-slit mouth containing numerous fine teeth. The upper jaw is slightly prominent. Sometimes whiting have a very small chin barbel, but it may be absent. They have a black spot at the base of the pectoral fin and two soft dorsal fins. The back is bluish-gray, the flanks light and the belly silvery-white.
Fishing spots
Whiting can be caught just about anywhere: on beaches, harbor dikes, offshore ridges and shipwrecks. Their depth range is vast: between 10 and 200 m.
Fishing techniques
The whiting is a winter fish that appreciates an iridescent faceted pearl before an arenicole. On wrecks, especially when looking for pollack, you may come across a whiting: voracious, it is capable of catching our big swimbait (shad) despite its small size. A soft white or yellow "octopus" lure (cephalopod imitation), placed behind the jig or heavy spoon, works well to catch whiting.
This groundfish is fished at different times depending on the geographical area, but we can say that it is present throughout France between September and October, and into November from the Vendée to the Spanish border.
Reproduction
Whiting reach sexual maturity at 30 cm and 2 years of age. Between January (Bay of Biscay) and March (Western Channel), they lay between 100,000 and 1 million eggs over a 10-week period. The pelagic larvae that are born often evolve hidden under jellyfish, sheltered from predators, and feed on jellyfish ovaries.
From 5 to 10 cm, young whiting move closer to the coast and stay close to the bottom at depths of between 5 and 30 m, sometimes even in harbor areas and docks mixed with pout. Whiting reach 15 to 20 cm at 1 year, 20 to 25 cm at 2 years and 30 to 35 cm at 3 years. Adult whiting can be caught in winter both inshore and offshore, day and night, and the largest specimens can be found on rocks and wrecks at depths of over 30 meters.
Size and weight
- Legal minimum size: 27 cm
- Size at sexual maturity: 30 cm
- Average size: 20 to 30 cm
- Maximum size: 70 cm (3.2 kg)
- French record: 1.77 kg (La Rochelle, Poitou Charentes, 03/02/2005)
Good to know
Whiting are benthic fish that often swim close to the bottom, sometimes in dense schools.
