Greenland halibut

Reinhardtius hippoglossoides

Greenland halibut is a groundfish and traditional fishery species. NAFO manages Greenland halibut in subarea 2 and Divisions 3KLMNO.

The following information is a stock assessment provided by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization www.nafo.ca/fisheries/frames/fishery.html

Fishery Status 2008: Greenland halibut is managed under a fifteen-year rebuilding programme that started in 2004. The objective of this programme is to attain a sustainable level of exploitable biomass. The Total Allowable Catch for 2008 was set at 16,000 metric tons.

Recent Assessment (2007): The exploitable biomass of stocks has been declining in recent years and is presently estimated to be at its lowest level. Recent recruitment has been below average, and fishing mortality, although decreasing recently remains high.

The Council reiterated its concern that the catches taken from this stock consist mainly of young, immature fish of ages several years less than that at which sexual maturity is achieved. It was also noted that prospects to rebuild this stock have been hampered by catches exceeding the TAC. Fishing effort should be distributed in a similar fashion to biomass distribution to ensure sustainability of all spawning components.

*Information provided by NAFO.