Fishes
231
ORDER: ESOCIFORMES (PIKES AND PICKERELS)
FaMiLy: eSoCidae (PikeS)
Esox lucius Linnaeus 1758
Order: Esociformes
Family: Esocidae
Common name: Northern pike.
Distribution: North America and Eurasia; Australia and New Zealand (Froese and Pauly, 2003a).
Habitat: Clear vegetated lakes, quiet
pools, and backwaters of creeks and
small to large rivers.
Description: Dorsal and anal fins
are opposite and close to the tail fin.
Pelvic fins are abdominal in position.
Head is broad, although the snout
is pointed. A  series of large teeth is
seen in the lower jaw, and dense but
smaller teeth are present in the roof
of the mouth. Color is usually greenish brown, flecked with lighter golden
green to form curved lines and speckles on the back and sides. It is yellowish
ventrally.  It grows to a maximum size
of 130 cm and 34 kg. The larger fish are
females, and males rarely grow heavier
than 6.3 kg (Froese and Pauly, 2003a).
Nutritional Facts
Proximate Composition (g/100 g WW)
Moisture Protein Fat Ash Cholesterol a
79.00
18.43 1.61 0.64
36.37
a mg/100 g.
Fatty Acids (% WW)
SFA
MUFA
PUFA
PUFA/SFA
39.90
31.66
28.15
0.71
Source: Data from Ljubojevic et al. (2013).
Protein Content of the Meat
% of Wet Weight
% of Dry Matter
18.4
90
Essential Amino Acid Composition
(g/16 g N of the protein)
Arginine
7.4
Histidine
2.1
Isoleucine
5.3
Leucine
8.2
Lysine
9.2
Methionine
3.2
Phenylalanine
4.2
Threonine
5.0
Tryptophan
0.9
Valine
5.6
Lipid Content of the Meat
% of Wet Weight
% of Dry Matter
0.9
4
Major Elements in the Muscle (mg/100 g)
Na
K
Mg
Ca
P
75
304
28
20
215