Hector's lanternfish (''Lampanyctodes hectoris'') is a lanternfish in the family Myctophidae, the only species in the genus ''Lampanyctodes''. It is named after James Hector. It is a widespread marine fish, known from shallow tropical waters in the south-eastern Atlantic, from the western Pacific off

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and New Zealand, and from the eastern Pacific off Chile. It is one of the few species of lanternfishes to inhabit shallow waters, and in those waters it is one of the most abundant species of fish, and central to the food chain of the upper continental slope. The abundance is due to its high fecundity — it spawns multiple times in the winter so that the fry can take advantage of the spring bloom of krill. It grows up to

standard length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies. These data are used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fisheries biology. Overall length * Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish m ...

(SL) and may reach the age of 3 years. It reaches sexual maturity at approximately 50 mm SL and age of one year. Hector's lanternfish is fished commercially using seine nets in the waters off South Africa, where catches have reached 42,400 tonnes. The catch is ground up to make

fish meal Fish meal is a commercial product made from whole wild-caught fish, bycatch and fish by-products to feed farm animals, e.g., pigs, poultry, and farmed fish.R. D. Miles and F. A. Chapman.FA122: The Benefits of Fish Meal in Aquaculture DietsFisheri ...

and fish oil.

References

* {{Taxonbar, from=Q8157582 Myctophidae Monotypic fish genera Fish described in 1876 Taxa named by Albert Günther de:Laternenfische ru:Миктофовые