Fjords & Coast, Norway

Atlantic Cod

Gadus morhua

The fish that built the North Atlantic — cod still stack on the banks and wrecks from Newfoundland to the Gulf of Maine, taking jigs and bait fished right on the bottom. In the Baltic Sea, EU rules for recreational cod fishing have been tightened in recent years and change from year to year — always check the current year's rules before fishing there.

Pollock

Pollachius virens

The cod's faster cousin — pollock school over the same North Atlantic wrecks and ledges but fight harder and feed up in the water, a favourite on Gulf of Maine party boats. Name trap across the Channel: in German this fish is Seelachs (or Köhler) — while the German word 'Pollack' names its cousin Pollachius pollachius, the pollack of Atlantic rocky coasts, which has its own page in this guide.

Ling

Molva molva

THREE-WAY NAME TRAP: this ling is a true cod-family fish of deep Atlantic wrecks and Norwegian fjords — it is NOT the New Zealand ling (Genypterus blacodes, a cusk-eel) and NOT the Pacific lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus, a greenling). Always check the Latin name Molva molva. Lange in Norwegian.

Atlantic Redfish

Sebastes norvegicus

The deep-water golden-red Sebastes of Norwegian fjords and the Barents Sea — a true redfish, often of astonishing age. It grows very slowly, so every fish deserves respect: keep only what you will eat, because fish hauled from the deep rarely survive release due to barotrauma. It is a true Sebastes, unlike Japan's smaller inshore Sebastiscus rockfish.

Atlantic Wolffish

Anarhichas lupus

A powerful rock-den fish with crushing jaws from the Norwegian fjords. Status note: in Canada this species is listed as Special Concern (COSEWIC/SARA) — Canadian anglers should check the rules and release fish; the Norwegian fjord fishery is its main seat in this guide. Prized for firm, sweet flesh, its jaws demand respect — a landed wolffish can bite hard enough to punish careless hands.

Greenland Halibut

Reinhardtius hippoglossoides

The deep, dark flatfish of cold northern water — Norway's blåkveite. Both eyes ride the edge of its dark side, and unusually its blind side is dark too. It lives in the deep basins of the fjords and the Arctic slopes off Canada and Greenland, fished with heavy gear over soft deep bottom.

Monkfish

Lophius piscatorius

The great flattened ambush predator of European shelf bottoms, burying in sand and luring fish with the fleshy flap on its fishing-rod illicium right in front of its enormous mouth. Only the muscular tail is eaten. Its inward-angled sharp teeth mean careful handling after landing — never reach near the mouth.