Other demersal fishes

The main demersal fishes harvested in Icelandic waters are the codfishes, flatfishes and redfishes, all described separately. Four other species that do not fit into these orders are of considerable commercial importance. These are the lumpsucker, monkfish, great silver smelt and the two catfish species, spotted catfish and Atlantic catfish. The third species of catfish, Northern catfish (Anarhichas denticulatus) lives in the cold deep waters north of Iceland, but this species is not edible due to its jellylike flesh.

Some other benthic fishes have been harvested in the past or are still fished in low amounts. The orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) is found in concentrations in some deep waters W, SW, S, and SE of Iceland. It is occasionally caught as bycatch in other deep water fisheries. Concentrations were found in 1991 and the catch reached a peak of 715 tonnes in 1993. After that the catches declined and have virtually ceased. The orange roughy is a very valuable fish and is special among the exploited species around Iceland since it has a global distribution. Valuable orange roughy fisheries are, for example, conducted off Australia and New Zealand. A few tonnes of Black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo) and Aggassiz´ smooth head (Alepocephalus agassizii) have also been reported in some years.

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