The Grey Wolffish has a large rounded head and a compressed body that becomes narrower towards the tailfin. It has powerful strong jaws and teeth that testify to its natural adaptation
to its diet to feeds on hard shelled animals such as sea urchins, mussels, snails and crabs. The body of the grey catfish is compressed from the side,
the head is heavy with a high forhead and a blunt rounded nose.
The colour of the fish varies, but it is usually greyish-brown to greyish-blue with crosslines on the upper part of the sides.

This species lives from the surface and down to depths of 435 metres. The grey catfish is a demersal fish that mostly found in rocky bottom areas with seaweed.
It does, however, appear at the surface, all the way up to the intertidal zone during spawning season. It is located on both sides of the Atlantic,
as well as rear ocurrences in the Mediterranean.
Wolffish spawn between November and February at depths of 40 to 200 metres. Spawning is earlier in more northerly areas and later in southern climes.
The grey catfish grows quickly the first three years, and then slows down. At the age of ten the average length is about 70 cm.

Commercial fishery takes place in the Barents Sea and the banks off the north of Norway. Wolffish is now also farmed.

Season: All year round.

Size: Up to 120 cmg.

Fishing methods:
Bottom-trawling, longlining, ground lines, ground nets.

Use:
Sold as fillets, fresh or frozen. Once regarded as an unappealing fish that nobody wanted, wolffish has now become a culinary delicacy in great demand.
Its flesh has a firm consistency, so there are many ways to prepare it in the kitchen. It can be cut in strips or bite-sized portions and stir-fried with vegetables,
spices and spicy sauces. Wolffish splendid for frying, due to its firm consistency, it is easy to handle on a grill.

Nutritional content:
The meat is extremely well tasty, and is rich in vitamin A, D and B12.
The total fat content is 2,5%.

Nutritional content table.

Commercial product:

Fresh grey catfish

Whole fish:
• Headed (Head off) and gutted: N-cut (collar bone on)
• Packed in polybox (normally of 25 kg)
• Size: mix (average weight 1-3 kg)

Fillets:
• Skinless PBI (Pin Bone In)
• Packed in 10 kg polybox (occasionally 5 kg)
• Size: mix

Frozen grey catfish

Whole fish:
• Headed (Head off) and gutted: N-cut
• Normally frozen at sea, in vertical freezer
• Packed as blocks in carton or bag (of approximately 25 kg), random weight
• Size: mix (average weight 1-3 kg)

Fillets:
• Skinless PBI (Pin Bone In)
• Frozen at sea in horizontal freezer
• Packed in master carton containing 3 blocks, each block weighing 15 pounds(lbs)
• Size: 3-5 oz/5-8 oz/8-16 oz/16-32 oz/+32 oz

Blue Wolffish (Catfish)
Latin - Anarhichas denticulatus
Norsk - Blåsteinbit
Deutsch - Blauer Seewolf
Français - Loup gélatineux / loup denticulé / loup à tête large
Italiano - Pesci Lupo
Español - Anarhichadidae
Português - Peixe-lobo-azul




The Blue Wolffish has a large rounded head and a compressed body that becomes narrower towards the tailfin. It has strong jaws and feeds on hard shelled animals
such as mussels and sea urchins. The blue catfish has a much rounder body shape and a pointier nose than the two other types of catfish (grey and spotted).
In addition it has a blue-grayish to dark blue color.
This bathypelagic blue catfish is found in the North-Atlantic from the Barents Sea and the western side of Novaja Zemlja to the North Sea and ocean areas off Iceland and Greenland.
It thrives at depths of between 60 and 970 meters, and spawns between November and February.

Season: All year round.

Size:
It grows quickly until the age of four, after which the growth decreases. A ten year old blue catfish is about 110 cm long.

Fishing methods:
The blue catfish is caught by bottom trawls and longlines.

Use:
The main market for the blue catfish is eastern Europe.
The meat can be gelly-like.

Nutritional content:
It is rich in vitamin A, D and B12 and has a high water content. In addition it has a fat content of 2,1%.

Commercial product:

Frozen blue catfish
Whole fish
• Headed (Head off) and gutted: N-cut (collar bone on)
• Frozen at sea in vertical freezer
• Packed as blocks in carton or bag (approximately 25 or 50 kg bag), random weight
• Size: mix (average weight 5-7 kg)
• Quality: E

Fillets
• Skinless PBI (Pin Bone In)
• Frozen at sea in horizontal freezer
• Packed in mastercarton containing 3 blocks, each block weighing 15 pounds(lbs)
• Size: 6-32 oz/+32 oz
• Quality: E

Monkfish / Anglerfish
Latin - Lophius piscatorius
Norsk - Breiflabb
Deutsch - Seeteufel
Français - Baudroie commune / Lotte
Nederlands - Zeeduivel
Italiano - Rana pescatrice
Español - Rape
Português - Tamboril / Tambori

    

The monkfish, or anglerfish, can easily be recognised by its huge head, which constitutes half its entire length. Monkfish are found in tidal waters and down to depths of 600 metres,
but during spawning season in the spring, they may go as deep as 2500 metres.

In the past, monkfish was only caught as a bycatch in Norway,
Today commercial fisheries are targeting monkfish. Fishing for monkfish is mainly done along the coast of the western counties from Bergen in the south to Tromsø in the north.

Season: May 20 to December 20.

Size:
Up to 200 cm, weight up to 79 kg.

Fishing methods:
Ground nets, bottom trawling, ground lines, longlining and gilnetting.

Use:
Monkfish was formerly considered an undesirable fish, but has become a favourite restaurant dish and is now regarded as one of the culinary delicacies of the sea.
Its flesh is firm and white and well-suited to both poached and fried dishes.
Monkfish is sold fresh, frozen, head on, tails and filleted. The fish is a superb food fish, with delicious, firm, white meat.

Nutritional content
Monkfish is an excellent source of protein, rich in vitamin A and provides a good supply of selenium, zinc and calcium. In addition the monkfish has a fat content of 0,1%.

Nutritional content table.

Commercial product:
Sold fresh or frozen, skinned and headless (Tail only), or as fillets.

Fresh monkfish

Whole fish:
• Head-on gutted
• Packed in 20 kg polybox
• Size: 0-1 kg/1-2 kg/2-4 kg/4-6 kg/6-8 kg/8-12 kg/12-15 kg/+15 kg

Tails:
• Packed in 10 or 20 kg polybox
• Size: 0-1 kg/1-2 kg/2-4 kg/4-6 kg/+6 kg

Fillets:
• Skinless
• Packed in 5 kg polybox
• Size: mix or according to order

Frozen monkfish

Tails:
• Seafrozen or landfrozen
• Landfrozen monkfish frozen IQF. Seafrozen monkfish frozen in vertical freezer
• Packed in carton, bag or palletainer
• Size: 0-1 kg/1-2 kg/2-4 kg/+4 kg

Fillets:
• Skinless
• Landfrozen in air blast tunnel or vertical freezer
• Packed in 5 kg carton
• Size: mix or according to order

Common European Skate
Latin - Raja batis
Norsk - Storskate
Deutsch - Rochen
Français - Raie / Raies / Rajidae
Italiano - Razze
Español - Rayas
Português - Raia oirega



In Nordic waters the Raja batis is the largest skate with a maximum length of 2,4 meters (female) and almost 100 kilos. The male however does not exceed 2,05 metres.
The skate has a flat body, broad pectoral fins and a tiny tail, it has a pointy snout and a row of spines down the tail and between the eyes. The underside is white-grey with many black spots and small spines.Adult females also have spines on the front edge of the body, while males have spines on their backs.

This predator feeds on many kinds of fish, for example other skates, cod, monkfish and herring, octopuses, and in addition crabs and lobsters. It is a slow growing fish
and will take at least ten years to reach sexual maturity.

The Raja batis is distributed from West Africa to Iceland and the Varanger Fjord, and is mostly found at depths of 30 to 600 metres, only young fishes are found in the shallower. Spawning takes place in the spring and summer.
Their eggs, deposited on the seabed, are encased in horny capsules which have long tips at each corner. Hatchlings are about 80 in (21 cm) long.

Season:
Sold all year round.

Size:
Up to 2,4 meters (female) and almost 100 kg.

Fishing methods:
Skate fishing is done by longlines and bottom trawls.

Use:
Only its large pectoral fins, called wings, are used. The white meat is firm and well tasty and is similar to lobster and crab in flavor and smell.
The main market for the Raja batis is Great Britain.

Commercial product:

Fresh skate
Wings:
• Packed in 10 or 20kg polybox
• Size: mix

Frozen skate
Wings:
• Frozen at sea in vertical freezer
• Packed in bag or carton, random weight
• Sizes: mix

Picked Dogfish
Latin - Squalus acanthias
Norsk - Pigghå
Deutsch - Dornhai
Français - Aiguillat commun
Nederlands - Doornhaai
Italiano - Raccolte gattuccio
Español - Mielga
Português - Galhudo malhado / Lavagante



The spiny dogfish is the most common kind of shark in Norwegian waters and is often found in dense shoals. The two dorsal fins have a long spine at the front which contains venom
and can give a painful wound if touched. The fish can grow up to 120 cm. It is mostly found at depths of 10 to 200 metres, but has also been found at 960 metres.

The spiny dogfish migrates in the autumn, to the waters west of the Shetland and Orkney Islands and returns to the Norwegian coast in the early spring.

Season: All year round.
Most longline fishing for spiny dogfish is carried out in the winter when the species is closest to the coast.

Size: Up to 120 cm.

Fishing methods are longlining and gilnetting.

Use
In the past, spiny dogfish was fished for its liver alone. More recently, however, the fish has become popular as a food fish.
Sold as fresh or frozen filet. It can also be smoked. Picked dogfish can be fried or broiled and used in various dishes.

Nutritional value:
Spiny dogfish is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids-100 grammes of meat providing roughly 2 grammes of these essential fatty acids. The total fat content is 6,4%.

Nutritional content table.

Commercial product:
From Norway it is exported as whole fresh fish.

Fresh dogfish

Whole fish:
• Round
• Packed in 20 kg polybox
• Size: 1-3 kg/+3 kg

European eel
Latin - Anguilla anguilla
Norsk - Ål
Deutsch - Aal
Français - Anguille
Nederlands - Aal / Paling
Italiano - Anguilla
Español - Anguila
Português - Enguia

       

The European eel, is a snake-like, facultatively catadromous fish (migrating down rivers to the sea to spawn), which can reach in exceptional cases a length of 1½ m,
but is normally much smaller, about 60–80 cm, and rarely more than 1 m.

The European eel migrates to the depths of the Sargasso Sea to spawn Spawning takes place in late winter and spring in the Sargasso Sea.. The leptocephali larvae are brought to the coasts of Europe by the Gulf Stream in 7 to 11 months time and can last for up to 3 years.

They are transformed into elvers, enter the estuaries and colonize the continental waters.They evolve into small eels before moving into freshwater basins.
Young eels spend their growing period and most of their lives in freshwater, males for 6-12 years, females for 9-20 years, before ending their metamorphosis.

Recent studies show that some populations of that species never migrate into freshwater, but spend their lives in marine or estuarine habitats.
Those eels living in freshwater undergo changes in pigmentation; their bellies turn yellow. It is assumed that the yellow-coloring acts as a protection from predators
as it makes it harder to visually detect the animals.

The European eel is an individualist in all its stages. They live on the bottom, under stones, in the mud or in crevices. Its food includes virtually the whole aquatic fauna
(freshwater as well as marine) occurring in the eel's area, augmented with animals living out of water, e.g. worms.
The slimy coating of the eel is thought to protect the fish against changes in salinity.

At the end of their growth period, they become sexually mature and the eels migrate to the sea where they inhabit deep waters (Depth range 0 – 700 m).
Adults do not feed during migration to sea. Gametogenesis occurs entirely during migration towards the Sargasso Sea. It occurs at temperatures ranging from 0-30°C.
Best temperature for making eels sexually mature is 20-25°C.

At an age of 6-30 years, eels begin to undergo a remarkable series of changes, eyes are enlarged, head becomes pointed, skin on the back darker,
while that on the belly becomes shiny and silvery.

Since the 1970s, the numbers of eels reaching Europe is thought to have declined by around 90%
(possibly even 98%). It is unclear whether this is part of a normal long term cycle, or whether this reflects a decline in eel numbers generally. Potential causes include overfishing,
parasites such as Anguillicola crassus, river barriers such as hydroelectric plants, and natural changes in the North Atlantic oscillation, Gulf Stream and the North Atlantic drift.
Recent work suggests that PCB pollution may be a major factor in the decline.

Eels have been important sources of food both as adults (including the famous jellied eels of East London) and as elvers.
Elver fishing using basket traps has been of significant economic value in many river estuaries on the western seaboard of Europe.

Size: Up to 133 cm and weight: 6,5 kg.

Use
Can be fried, boiled and baked.

Nutritional content table.

Commercial product: 
Fresh, dried or salted, smoked and frozen.