Pelagic occurrence of Greenland halibut, Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum), in West Greenland waters

Abstract

The extent of pelagic occurrence of R. hippoglossoides, in Greenland waters was evaluated from four pelagic surveys, two conducted at deep water areas where the commercial fishery takes place and two in areas considered to be important nursery areas. One-year-old Greenland halibut were abundant and they undertook vertical feeding migrations at night. Older Greenland halibut were rarely encountered pelagically, and the analysis of commercial trawl data showed that the catchability of Greenland halibut did not vary diurnally.