A commercial fish from the Cod family, found in the cold waters of the western, eastern and northern Atlantic Ocean. In the Barents Sea, it is found off the coast of Murmansk. It lives in deep waters (from 100 to 600 m or more), rarely rising in the middle layers of water. It inhabits the continental slopes. Its body is broad and gray (with a darker back), narrowing towards the tail at the head. The mouth is lower with small teeth. The eyes are large and oval in shape. The body is covered with large and dense scales with stiff barbs pointing toward the tail. The tail fin is absent. The weight of commercial specimens ranges from 400 g to 1.5 kg with a body length of 40-60 cm. The maximum size is about 1 m with a weight of about 5 kg.