Patagonian toothfish 50 years and to reach a length up to . Several commercial fisheries exist for Patagonian toothfish which are detailed below. This species is also sold in the trade under the culinary names Chilean seabass in the United States and Canada; in Argentina, Peru and Uruguay; legine australe in France; mero in Korea, Japan, and Spain, and bacalao de profundidad in Chile. The name "Chilean seabass" was invented by a fish wholesaler named Lee Lantz in 1977. He was looking for a name that would make it attractive to the American market. He considered "Pacific sea bass" and "South American
Patagonian toothfish sea bass" before settling on "Chilean sea bass". In 1994, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) accepted "Chilean Seabass" as an "alternative market name" for Patagonian toothfish, and in 2013 for Antarctic toothfish. In the UK, the approved commercial designations for "D. eleginoides" and "D. mawsoni" are "icefish" and "toothfish". This has created some confusion as there is a genuine "icefish" ("Champsocephalus gunnari") caught in subantarctic waters, which does not resemble toothfish in any way. Patagonian toothfish spawn in deep water (around 1,000m) during the austral winter, producing pelagic eggs and larvae. Larvae switch to a demersal habitat at