Species composition and length frequency of bycatch from exploratory longlines surveys targeting Greenland halibut in East Greenland

Bycatch is a major problem in fisheries management as canlead to a high mortality of wide range of organisms. There is littledocumentation of the bycatch from the Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides)fishery in East Greenland. This study involved the analysis of the catchcomposition of exploratory longline surveys targeting Greenland halibut in EastGreenland in order to assess the species composition, catch rates and lengthcomposition which are likely to be caught in the commercial fishery in thisarea.

A total of 40 species were identified to species level. Thenumbers of non-targeted fish caught per Greenland halibut on the continentalslope were 35, 7 and 6 for depth bands of 400–799, 800–1199 and 1200-1600 m respectively,defining the Greenland halibut longline fishery as a fishery with elevatedbycatch levels. The composition of the bycatch varied with depth but primarilyconsisted of Macrourus berglax, Centroscyllium fabricii and Antimorarostrata with M. Berglax making up approximately 80 % of the bycatchat depths between 800 and 1199 m.