Fleets involved: Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Russian Federation, Scotland.

Fishing gear used in deep-sea fisheries (bottom trawl, longline and gillnet) does have bottom contact.
Bottom trawls
Longlines (not specified)
Gillnets (not specified)

FAO “Worldwide review of bottom fisheries in the high seas”.

Estimated number of vessels in recent years by fishery or fishing area

There is currently no information on seasonality.

Analysis of catches of deep-sea species reported to NEAFC under the Scheme of Control and Enforcement shows the following patterns. The species reported have been categorised according to their productivity adapted from the Annex II and III in the FAO report from the Expert Consultation on Deep-Sea Fisheries in the High Seas in Bangkok 21-23 November 2006 (FAO Fisheries Report No. 838 FIEP/R838).

By-catch
In deep-sea fisheries, by-catches of species not targetted or of no commercial interest are known to occur.

Black scabbard fish (Aphanopus carbo)
In the absence of clear evidence on stock discrimination two units have been considered: northern (Subareas V, VI, VII, and XII) and southern (Subareas VIII and IX). In the northern area, the state of stock remains uncertain but the available CPUE data indicate a decline in abundance since 1990. Longline cpue in Division IXa has been relatively stable during the past decade.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Black Scabbardfish - Northeast Atlantic

Greater silver smelt (Argentina silus)
There is insufficient information on which to determine the state of argentine abundance in either of the two areas considered by WGDEEP, subdivision Va and other areas (I, II, IIIa, IV, Vb, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XII, and XIV). Catches increased considerably in recent years, but were reduced in 2003 in some areas, partly due to introduction of TAC management in EU waters. In Sub-area VI the frequency of old fish (20+) in the catches declined significantly after a few years of target fisheries. Such changes suggest high exploitation rates.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Greater silver smelt or argentine - Northeast Atlantic

Alfonsino (Beryx spp.)
The stock structure of the alfonsinos is unknown and possible fish movements between areas, (seamounts, coastal areas of the islands and slope continental areas) are also not known. However these species are known to aggregate around the seamounts areas. Areas, north and south of the Azores EEZ are highly exploited with a regime of operation that suggests a sequential depletion of the explored seamounts. Standardized cpue from the Azores longline commercial fishery indicates an overall slowly decreasing trend for Beryx decadactylus.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Alfonsino - Northeast Atlantic

Tusk (Brosme brosme)
Based on the recommendations of WGDEEP in 2007, tusk is now assessed under five new stock units; Arctic (sub areas I and II), Iceland (Va and XIV), the Mid Atlantic Ridge (XIIa1), Rockall (VIb), and a combined unit for other areas (IIIa, IVa, Vb, VI, VII, VIII, IX, XII, and XIV).
In all these areas, the state of the stocks remains uncertain. In the Arctic, CPUE has in recent years been well below historical levels. In Iceland, survey indices show that abundance has been increasing in recent years, although it is still lower than in the mid-1980s. On the Mid-Atlantic ridge catches of tusk are very minor and there is insufficient information on which to assess the state of the stocks. At Rockall, CPUE indices show no apparent trend. In other areas, the cpue series of the main fleet in Divisions IVa, VIa, and VIb suggest that the abundance has remained at a reduced level.

Assessment results provided by ICES:
Tusk - Northeast Atlantic
Tusk - Barents Sea, Norwegian Sea, Spitzbergen and Bear Island
Tusk - Iceland and Reykjanes Ridge
Tusk - Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Tusk - Rockall
Tusk - Other areas of Northeast Atlantic

Roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris)
The drastic increase in exploitation of roundnose grenadier in Division IIIa the years 2003-2005 gave rise for serious concern, even if no clear signs of the increasing fishing pressure were observed in recent years. No directed fishery has taken place since 2007, due to retirement of the fishers. A decrease in mean length of the in the catch from 1987 to 2004 &2005 indicates heavy exploitation on this stock.
The stock status in Vb, VI, VII and XIIb is uncertain but there are some evidences of biomass depletion. The apparent decline in CPUE in the reference area appears inconsistent with the presence of older fish in the current landings. However, this fishery in Vb, VI, VII and XIIb has expanded spatially with time and it is possible that sequential depletion of components of the stock may be occurring. Little is known about migration or mixing within the stock.
The state of the stock on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is uncertain. Soviet data suggest a high stock biomass (400,000-700,000 t) in 1970-1980s but a decreasing trend of the CPUE indicate that the abundance was reduced to a low level in recent years. Moreover, Russian trawl acoustic survey in 2003 showed relatively low biomass of the pelagic component of stock, an increasing depth of the aggregations, and a higher number of small immature fish.

Assessment results provided by ICES:
Roundnose grenadier - Northeast Atlantic
Roundnose grenadier - Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Roundnose grenadier - Other areas of Northeast Atlantic
Roundnose grenadier - Rockall, West of Scotland, Irish and Celtic seas, Porcupine Bank, English and Bristol Channels, Faroes grounds and Western Hatton Bank
Roundnose grenadier - Skagerrak and Kattegat

Kitefin shark (Dalatias licha)
Kitefin shark - Northeast Atlantic

Orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)
In Subarea VI orange roughy catches increased rapidly in the in the late 1980s and subsequently dropped to a low level. It is presumed that the aggregations were fished out. Orange roughy fisheries in Subarea VII have exhibited a similar pattern to that in VI. High catches have not been sustained by individual fleets and have dropped to low levels, suggesting sequential depletion. It is not clear if there are unfished aggregations remaining in Subarea VII. Overall, landings have declined to very low levels in each management area (VI, VII and other).

Assessment results provided by ICES:Orange roughy - Northeast Atlantic

Blue ling (Molva dypterygia)
Based on cpue from Iceland trawlers the abundance of blue ling in Va and XIV has steadily declined from 1991 to 2000 and has remained at a low level since then. In Vb, VI, and VII CPUE information suggests that the abundance of blue ling remains at a low level. In other areas (Subdivisions I, II, IIIa, IVa, VIII, IX, and XII) Trends in landings suggest serious stock depletion, at least in Subareas IIa and IIb.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Blue Ling - Northeast Atlantic

Ling (Molva molva)
Commercial cpue for Norwegian longliners in sub-areas I and II has in recent years been lower than observed in the 1970s and 80s. There is some evidence of a recent increase but not to previous levels. In division Va, survey biomass index shows increasing abundance since 2000. The levels are currently at a similar high level as in the start of the series and there are indications that fishing mortality may have declined in recent years. In division Vb, abundance indices suggest that the stock is stable at a low level compared with the 1970s and 80s. Catch curve analysis indicates that total mortality on fish 7 years and older is at 0.5. The cpue series of the main fleet in Divisions IVa, VIa, and VIb suggest that the abundance has remained at a reduced level after the decline in the 1970s to 1990s.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Ling - Northeast Atlantic

Red (blackspot) seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo)
Available information, particularly genetics and tagging, seems to support the current assumption of three assessment units (VI – VIII, IX and X). Based on historical catches, the stock in VI, VII, and VIII appears to be severely depleted. The stock in sub-area IX is depleted and there is no evidence of a significant recovery of the stock resulting from the local recovery plan. The status in Subarea X is uncertain but there are signs of increases in indices of abundance from surveys and stable CPUE from the fishery. It is possible that sequential depletion of local populations may be occurring and this may be contributing to the stability of observed commercial CPUE series.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Red Seabream - Northeast Atlantic

Greater forkbeard (Phycis blennoides)
There is no information available that allows for evaluation of the stock trends. The state of the stock is unknown.

Assessment results provided by ICES:Greater forkbeard - Northeast Atlantic

Greenland halibut (Rheinhardtius hippoglossoides)
Greenland halibut - Barents and Norwegian Seas
Greenland halibut - Denmark Strait