Review

Monitoring beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella) in the North Atlantic, current challenges and future prospects

¹ Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 6404, 9294 Tromsø, Norway
² Marine Research Institute, Skúlagata 4, PO Box 1390, 121 Reykjavík, Iceland
³ Knipovich Polar Research Institute of Marine Fisheries and Oceanography (PINRO), 6 Knipovich Street, 183038 Murmansk, Russian Federation
⁴ Thünen Institute of Sea Fisheries, Palmaille 9, 22767 Hamburg, Germany
⁵ Institute of Marine Research, PO Box 1870 Nordnes, 5817 Bergen, Norway
⁶ Faroe Marine Research Institute, Nóatún, PO Box 3051, 110 Tórshavn, Faroe Islands

^a Corresponding author: krik@hafro.is

Received: 2 January 2013
Accepted: 3 June 2013

Abstract

Beaked redfish inhabits North Atlantic waters in the depth range 100–950 m, over the continental shelf, slope and the open ocean. Individuals can live demersal or pelagic, at various stages of their life cycle. The geographical distribution of the species extends to most of the Atlantic waters from Newfoundland and the Labrador basin in the west to the Barents Sea in the east. Monitoring beaked redfish is challenging because of the species wide geographical distribution and large scale migrations; deep distribution, which complicates trawling and hydroacoustic surveys; difficulties with tagging; and persistent difficulties in taxonomic identification. These challenges make it a particularly problematic species to observe with conventional research methods. We review these key challenges and provide recommendations for the coordinated observation of Sebastes mentella in the North Atlantic that would best contribute to the assessment and ecological research on this species.