sablefish

The sablefish (Anoplopoma fimbria) is one of two members of the fish family Anoplopomatidae and the only species in the genus Anoplopoma. In English, common names for it include sable (US), butterfish (US), black cod (US, UK, Canada), blue cod (UK), bluefish (UK), candlefish (UK), coal cod (UK), snowfish (; Thailand), coalfish (Canada), beshow, and skil (Canada), although many of these names also refer to other, unrelated, species. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration accepts only "sablefish" as the acceptable market name in the United States; "black cod" is considered a vernacular (regional) name and should not be used as a statement of identity for this species. The sablefish is found in muddy sea beds in the North Pacific Ocean at depths of and is commercially important to Japan.

==Description== The sablefish is a species of deep-sea fish common to the North Pacific Ocean. Adult sablefish are opportunistic piscivores, preying on Alaskan pollock, eulachon, capelin, herring, sandlance, and Pacific cod, as well as squid, euphausiids, and jellyfish. Sablefish are long-lived, with a maximum recorded age of 94 years although the majority of the commercial catch in many areas is less than 20 years old.thumb|Illustration File:4sablefish 500.jpg|Resting on soft sediment of a 800 m deep canyon floor. File:Sablefish resting on sediment.jpg|Resting on soft sediment 302 m (991 ft) deep