Coalfish

Fascinating facts about the Coalfish

• A coalfish can live up to two decades and still grow past a meter long – the biggest recorded was 130 cm (50 in) and weighed 32 kg (71 lb). That size rivals many popular table fishes and shows the species can reach impressive ages and dimensions in the wild.
• Females don’t start spawning until they’re at least four years old, and a single large female can dump up to nine million eggs, each just over a millimeter wide. This huge reproductive output helps keep the population stable despite heavy fishing pressure.
• Juvenile coalfish cling to rocky shorelines, but as they age they migrate to deeper offshore waters. Their shifting habitat illustrates how the species exploits both coastal nursery grounds and open-sea feeding zones.
• The current world-record coalfish, caught at Norway’s Saltstraumen, weighed 22.7 kg (50 lb 1 oz). That trophy showcases how the species can still produce trophy-size individuals even under modern fisheries.
• Across the eastern Atlantic, annual landings have bounced between 300,000 and 700,000 tonnes from 1980 to 2017, yet all four assessed stocks are managed as sustainable and many carry MSC certification. This demonstrates that careful management can keep a heavily fished species thriving.

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