NAFO Sci. Coun. Studies, 12:13-20
Greenland Fisheries and Environment Research Institute
Tagensvej 135, Copenhagen N, Denmark
Results from stratified-random bottom-trawl surveys off West Greenland during the autumns of 1982-86 indicated substantial decline in biomass and abundance of both Atlantic wolffish and spotted wolffish. Atlantic wolffish were the more abundant of the two species, with the catch rate generally decreasing from north to south, and occurred mainly in the 0-200 and 200-400 m depth ranges. Spotted wolffish, on the other hand, were rather uniformly distributed over the three depth ranges (to 600 m) and also over the north-south strata. Mean lengths of both species tended to increase from north to south. Reported recaptures from the taggings, during 1955-64, of 174 Atlantic wolffish and 746 spotted wolffish were 2 and 53 respectively. The two Atlantic wolffish were taken in the vicinity of the tagging site about 2 years after they were tagged.
Spotted wolffish exhibited rather stationary behavior, with most recaptures generally within 20 nautical miles (nm) of the tagging sites up to 10 years after they were tagged. Only three spotted wolffish were found more than 100 nm from the tagging sites, two southward and one northward. Analysis of longline catches of spotted wolffish in the Nuuk area indicated local seasonal movements.