Stock of beaked redfish in the Barents Sea

Last updated 30 September 2022

The stock of beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) has a positive development. Recruitment to the stock was weak from 1996 to 2004, but has been clearly strengthened since then.

Status and trend

According to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the beaked redfish population has recovered to a sustainable reproductive level. Recruitment was weak from 1996 to 2004, but has been clearly strengthened since then.

In early 2007, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC) determined an annual quota for the fishery in international waters. The quota set for 2007 was 15,500 tonnes. The quota was then gradually reduced until 2014, when it was set to 24,000 tonnes.

In the re-establishment phase for the beaked redfish population, which lasted until 2014, it was only permitted to catch beaked redfish as an unavoidable bycatch in Norwegian sea areas. With effect from 2014 it has once again been possible to fish for this species within defined areas. For 2015 to 2017, ICES decided that the commercial fishery could take out up to 30,000 tonnes with an increase in quota, including bycatch and discard. The following years, ICES had decided significantly higher quotas as shown in the following table.

In 2014 and 2015, catches outside the Norwegian economic zone amounted to less than 30,000 tonnes, but from 2016 there was a marked increase. Catches within and outside the Norwegian economic zone amounted to a total of 5,600 tonnes above the total permitted catch. The corresponding numbers for 2017 were a bit lower, with a total catch of 900 tonnes above the total permitted catch. Catches in 2018 were at the same level as in 2016 with 6,100 tonnes above the total permitted catch. In contrast, the catch for 2019 under quota was only 6,100 tonnes outside and 39,900 tonnes within the Norwegian economic zone. Preliminary figures for 2020 still show a deficit, but with 1,200 tonnes less than in 2019.

The recommended quota for 2021 and 2022 are 66,158 and 67,210 tonnes. This corresponds to a fish mortality of 0.06 which equates to the precautionary level, i.e. the level that should prevent the stock from being reduced so much that measures must be initiated by the fisheries to prevent further decline. The existing measures to protect fry and juvenile fish should be continued.

Causal factors

The beaked redfish population is affected both by natural conditions, such as sea temperature and the occurrence of fish that prey on beaked redfish, and by human activity such as fishing.

Cod and halibut eat small beaked redfish. Larvae and small beaked redfish fry are also found in the stomachs of herring.

The present spawning population consists almost entirely of age groups born in the late 1980s. This is due to both the weak recruitment between 1996 and 2004 and the fact that the beaked redfish only becomes sexually mature at the age of 12. In 2017, the large cohorts born after 2004 have begun to form part of the spawning population and are now visible as a secondary peak in the population structure.

Consequences

The beaked redfish population is developing well, with an increase in both recruitment and the sexually mature population. The spawning stock was at its highest at 911 000 tonnes in 2007, and has since fluctuated between 800 000 and 900 000 tonnes.

An unknown quantity of beaked redfish is also being caught as bycatch in other fisheries, such as in the silversmelt and prawn fishery. The prawn fishery is therefore monitored and areas with too high a proportion of beaked redfish fry (maximum 3 fry per 10 kg of prawns) are closed.

About the monitoring

Beaked redfish are according to the Norwegian Red List of species (2021) registered as Least Concern (LC). The species is long-lived and reaches sexual maturity late. It is necessary to monitor the stock size to ensure good and sufficient knowledge in order to be able to manage the fisheries of the species since it has previously been exposed to overfishing.

Further reading