Micromesistius australis Norman 1937

Gill rakers on first arch 38 to 48.

There are two disjunct populations, one of which (M. a. australis) is found from about 38°S to nearly 62°S around the Falkland/Malvinas Islands and Argentine Patagonia in the western South Atlantic; also off South Georgia, South Shetland and South Orkney Islands and in the southeastern Pacific, off Chile; the other population (M. a. pallidus) lives on the various banks and rises around the South Island of New Zealand.

Reaching 90 cm total length, common to 60 cm.

Benthopelagic to pelagicat depths of about 70 to 800 m, invading the shelf 60° waters during summer and concentrating over the continental slope in winter. The New Zealand population is most abundant at 500 m (range: 180 to 800 m), the Argentine fishes at about 200 m (range: 70 to 620 m).In warm summers, the population of the Falkland/Malvinas current (on the Patagonian shelves of Argentina and southern Chile) migrates southward to S. Georgia, S. Shetland Islands, Elephant Island and the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula.Up to 30 cm length, all fish are males, at 50 cm females and males are in the same proportion, and larger than 50 cm 90% are females. Spawning occurs from June to July in New Zealand and spring to early summer in Patagonia and the Falkland/Malvinas Islands. Growth rate differs by sex with females larger than males: 1 year = 13 cm; 2 years = 22 cm; 3 years = 29 cm; 10 years = 50 cm females and 47 cm males.The young feed on euphausids and amphipods and occasionally on copepods, cephalopods, octopods and small fish.

Catches of Micromesistius australis are reported from areas 41 (128,727 t in 1995), 81 (32,322 t) and 87 (20,917 t). In area 41 most of the catches are taken by Argentina, the rest by distant fishing fleets. Caught with mid-water trawl and bottom trawl mostly on the Patagonian/Fuegan shelf, off Argentina, and off the southern shelf of New Zealand. Also very abundant around Elephant and S. Orkney Islands. The total catch reported for this species to FAO for 1999 was 167 282 t. The countries with the largest catches were Argentina (55 097 t) and New Zealand (39 012 t). Utilized mainly in frozen blocks and as fish meal.