Golden Haddock landed at Peterhead
22nd August 2017
The Avoch pair-seiner Boy John INS 110 landed a very unusual fish – a Golden Haddock – at Peterhead fishmarket last week, after fishing on the Bergen Bank, reports David Linkie.
Above: The unusual Golden Haddock landed at Peterhead earlier this month by the pair-seiner Boy John.
As the name implies, the rare specimen has a golden hue, rather than the usual distinctive silver/dark grey colouring, and does not have the dark blotches and thumbprint markings that are the normal characteristics of the haddock.
Fishery scientists say that this is caused by recessive genes from both parents of the fish, which result in either a golden or an albino effect, although the health of the fish and the fresh quality are not compromised.
The last reported instance of a Golden Haddock (Melenogrammus aeglefinus) being caught in UK waters was in November 2002, when skipper David McRobbie and the crew of the pair-trawler Karen Ann FR 559 netted one at the Balta Hole, four years after one was taken by a trawler off the Scilly Isles.
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