GREENLAND HALIBUT
Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
Publication of Advice: 6 June 2025. Published by Marine and Freshwater Research Institute.
Advice
MFRI and ICES advise that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in the 2025/2026 fishing year in the East Greenland/ Iceland/Faroe Islands area should be no more than 20 992 tonnes.
Stock development
Fishing pressure is above FMSY and below Fpa; spawning stock size is above MSY Btrigger, Bpa and Blim.
Greenland halibut. Catch by areas, recruitment (age 5), fishing mortality (ages 9–14), and spawning stock biomass (SSB). Shaded areas and error bars show 90% confidence intervals.
Basis of the assessment and reference points
Basis of the advice | MSY approach |
Management plan | There is no management plan for this stock |
Assessment type | Analytical assessment (Gadget) that uses catches in the model and in the forecast |
Input data | Commercial catches (international landings); length composition by gear; one combined survey (GRL-deep, 1998–2016, and the Icelandic bottom trawl survey – Autumn (IS-SMH) since 1996);distributions from the Icelandic bottom trawl survey. |
Approach | Reference point | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
MSY approach | MSY Btrigger | 24 895 | Bpa |
FMSY | 0.22 | Fishing mortality that leads to MSY; estimated using stochastic simulations | |
Precautionary approach | Blim | 18 213 | Bloss (SSB in 2010) |
Bpa | 24 895 | Blim × e1.645σ, σ = 0.19. | |
Fpa | 0.29 | FP05, maximum F at which the probability of SSB falling below Blim is < 5% |
Prospects
Greenland halibut.* *Assumptions made for the interim year and in the forecast.
Variable | Value | Notes |
|---|---|---|
Fages 9-14 (2025) | 0.21 | F that corresponds to assumed catch in 2025. |
SSB (2026) | 28 259 | From the assessment; in tonnes |
Recruitment age 5 (2026) | 32 038 | From the assessment; in thousands. |
Recruitment age 5 (2027) | 30 463 | From the assessment; in thousands. |
Catch (2025) | 17 980 | Advised catch for 2025; in tonnes |
Greenland halibut. Projection of SSB (tonnes) based on the MSY approach.
Basis | Catch (2026) | F (ages 9-14) (2026) | SSB (2027) | % SSB change1) | % advice change2) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MSY approach | 20 992 | 0.22 | 31 039 | 10 | 17 |
1) SSB in 2027 relative to SSB in 2026 | |||||
2) Advice value for 2025/2026 relative to advice value for 2024/2025 (17890 t) | |||||
The advised catch for 2026 has increased because the stock size is now above MSY Btrigger.
Quality of the assessment
Connectivity to the adjacent Greenland halibut stocks (Northeast Arctic stocks in ICES subareas 1 and 2 and NAFO subarea 0 and 1) is known but still unquantified (Albert and Vollen, 2015; Westgaard et al., 2017; Vihtakari et al., 2022). Therefore, the current assessment trend may be influenced by more than one population. This issue adds to the uncertainty in the assessment.
Lack of consistency in age readings between nations prevent use of age information from all areas in the assessment.
In this years assessment, SSB has been revised upwards and F downwards, compared to previous years.
Greenland halibut. Historical assessment results. Current assessment (red line) compared with the previous estimates.
Other information
Greenland halibut is a slow-growing and late-maturing species. Increased recruitment since 2022 has been estimated based on survey observations, and this may increase the fishable biomass from 2026 onward.
No formal agreement on the management of fisheries on Greenland halibut exists among the three principal coastal states of Greenland, Iceland, and the Faroe Islands. An agreement exists between Iceland and Greenland since 2021 on the management of the Greenland halibut fishery based on the ICES MSY approach, allocating 56.4% and 37.6% of the adviced catch each of the nations respectively.
Advice, TAC and catch
Greenland halibut. Recommended TAC to East Greenland / Iceland / Faroes, national TAC, and catches (tonnes). Note that catch in Icelandic waters is by fishing year whereas catch in other areas and total catch is by calendar year.
Fishing year | Recommended TAC | Icelandic TAC1) | Catches Iceland | East Greenland TAC2) | Catches Greenland3) | Catches other nations3) | Total catch4) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | 25 000 | 30 000 | 30 067 | 15 | 3 954 | 34 038 | |
1985 | 25 000 | 30 000 | 29 210 | 81 | 2 789 | 32 116 | |
1986 | 25 000 | 30 000 | 31 063 | 177 | 1 770 | 33 027 | |
1987 | 25 000 | 30 000 | 44 775 | 154 | 1 600 | 46 665 | |
1988 | 30 000 | 30 000 | 48 630 | 37 | 2 067 | 50 774 | |
1989 | 30 000 | 30 000 | 58 332 | 11 | 2 859 | 61 202 | |
1990 | 30 000 | 30 000 | 36 573 | 40 | 2 290 | 38 903 | |
1991 | 27 000 | 33 000 | 31 187 | 65 | 1 989 | 36 869 | |
1991/1992 | 25 000 | 25 000 | 30 221 | 437 | 2 885 | 35 326 | |
1992/1993 | 30 000 | 30 000 | 39 796 | 288 | 6 634 | 40 909 | |
1993/1994 | 25 000 | 30 000 | 28 420 | 867 | 8 776 | 37 640 | |
1994/1995 | 30 000 | 30 000 | 26 499 | 533 | 9 153 | 37 177 | |
1995/1996 | 20 000 | 20 000 | 22 292 | 1 162 | 14 041 | 37 105 | |
1996/1997 | 15 000 | 15 000 | 17 351 | 1 129 | 11 777 | 31 086 | |
1997/1998 | 10 000 | 10 000 | 10 312 | 747 | 10 123 | 20 598 | |
1998/1999 | 10 000 | 10 000 | 10 578 | 200 | 9 911 | 21 304 | |
1999/2000 | 10 000 | 10 000 | 11 560 | 1 740 | 11 830 | 28 106 | |
2000/2001 | 20 000 | 20 000 | 20 195 | 1 553 | 11 504 | 43 934 | |
2001/2002 | 20 000 | 20 000 | 19 262 | 1 887 | 8 871 | 46 965 | |
2002/2003 | 23 000 | 23 000 | 20 266 | 1 459 | 11 773 | 33 590 | |
2003/2004 | 20 000 | 23 000 | 15 784 | 16 008 | 31 485 | ||
2004/2005 | 15 000 | 15 000 | 13 028 | 2 943 | 9 227 | 25 185 | |
2005/2006 | 15 000 | 15 000 | 12 670 | 1 974 | 7 754 | 21 526 | |
2006/2007 | 15 000 | 15 000 | 9 968 | 2 656 | 9 216 | 21 452 | |
2007/2008 | 15 000 | 15 000 | 9 750 | 11 700 | 7 974 | 10 346 | 29 991 |
2008/2009 | 5 000 | 15 000 | 15 581 | 21 000 | 10 607 | 9 762 | 36 144 |
2009/2010 | 5 000 | 12 000 | 14 079 | 12 000 | 1 854 | 11 379 | 26 954 |
2010/2011 | 5 000 | 13 000 | 12 231 | 12 000 | 3 415 | 9 311 | 32 295 |
2011/2012 | 12 000 | 13 000 | 13 145 | 13 000 | 4 972 | 10 540 | 36 253 |
2012/2013 | 20 000 | 15 000 | 14 092 | 10 000 | 3 316 | 8 804 | 33 381 |
2013/2014 | 20 000 | 12 500 | 11 942 | 8 300 | 1 895 | 8 525 | 24 490 |
2014/2015 | 25 000 | 14 100 | 11 852 | 9 500 | 3 743 | 8 877 | 25 020 |
2015/2016 | 22 000 | 12 400 | 13 408 | 8 300 | 1 506 | 11 161 | 25 320 |
2016/2017 | 24 000 | 13 500 | 12 152 | 9 000 | 2 556 | 7 610 | 22 092 |
2017/2018 | 24 000 | 13 535 | 14 873 | 9 024 | 2 970 | 8 466 | 26 650 |
2018/2019 | 24 150 | 13 621 | 12 654 | 9 080 | 2 798 | 7 752 | 22 595 |
2019/2020 | 21 360 | 12 047 | 12 367 | 8 031 | 1 882 | 7 777 | 22 195 |
2020/2021 | 23 530 | 13 271 | 12 876 | 8 847 | 2 693 | 7 106 | 22 635 |
2021/2022 | 26 650 | 15 031 | 10 164 | 10 020 | 2 640 | 7 546 | 21 326 |
2022/2023 | 26 710 | 15 064 | 14 885 | 10 043 | 3 226 | 8 013 | 25 425 |
2023/2024 | 19 703 | 13 463 | 12 580 | 8 099 | 1 902 | 3 456 | 19 287 |
2024/2025 | 17 890 | 13 096 | 6 727 | ||||
2025/2026 | 20 992 | ||||||
1) National TAC | |||||||
2) TAC by calendar year | |||||||
3) Catches are given by calendar year | |||||||
3) Catches are given by calendar year | |||||||
4) Calendar year | |||||||
References and further reading
Albert, O. T., and Vollen, T. 2015. A major nursery area around the Svalbard archipelago provides recruits for the stocks in both Greenland halibut management areas in the Northeast Atlantic. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 72: 872–879. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsu191.
ICES. 2023a. Benchmark workshop on Greenland halibut and redfish stocks (WKBNORTH). ICES Scientific Reports. 5:33. https://doi.org/10.17895/ices.pub.22304638.
Vihtakari, M, Elvarsson, B., Treble, M, Nogueira, M., Hedges, K., Hussey, N.E., Wheeland, L., Roy, D., Ofstad, L.H., Hallfredsson, E.H., Barkley, A., Estévez-Barcia, D., Nygaard, R., Healey, B., Steingrund, P., Johansen, T., Albert, O-T., and Boje, J. 2022. Migration patterns of Greenland halibut in the North Atlantic revealed by a compiled mark-recapture dataset. ICES Journal of Marine Science, 79: 1902-1917.
Westgaard, J. I., Saha, A., Kent, M., Hansen, H. H., Knutsen, H., Hauser, L., Cadrin, S. X., et al. 2017. Genetic population structure in Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides) and its relevance to fishery management. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 74: 475–485. https://doi.org/10.1139/cjfas-2015-0430.
MFRI Assessment Reports 2025. Greenland halibut. Marine and Freshwater Research Institute, 6 June 2025.