About the Species
Acadian redfish, also called ocean perch, is the only fish in the rockfish/ocean perch family in the Atlantic, compared to the more than 50Sebastes species in the Pacific. The fish is called redfish in New England and Canada, but is not to be confused with redfish from the Gulf of Mexico (which is a drum). Acadian redfish are harvested year-round but harvests are usually largest during spring and summer in the Gulf of Maine.
Population
The stock is not overfished.
Fishing Rate
Not subject to overfishing.
Habitat Impacts
Area closures and gear restrictions protect habitat that are affected by some kinds of trawl gear.
Bycatch
Regulations are in place to minimize bycatch.
Population Status
- According to the 2023stock assessment, Acadian redfish isnot overfished andnot subject to overfishing. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
Appearance
- Acadian redfish are orange to flame red, with paler underbellies.
- They have a flattened body that is longer than it is deep.
- They have large eyes and a large mouth lined with many small teeth.
- They have one continuous dorsal fin that runs from the nape of their neck to their caudal peduncle (where the body meets the tail) and a small tail fin.
- Young redfish are marked with patches of black and green pigment. They don’t develop their red pigment until after they move to the ocean bottom.
Biology
- Acadian redfish are slow-growing, long-lived fish.
- Redfish can grow up to 18 to 20 inches long and live 50 years or more.
- They mature at a late age (5 to 6 years) and have low reproductive rates.
- They mate in late autumn and early winter.
- Redfish give birth to live young (an unusual feature for fish), and fertilization, incubation, and hatching of eggs all occur within the female’s body.
- Eggs are not fertilized until spring and then incubate for 45 to 60 days. Females release their hatched larvae from late spring through July and August.
- Females generally produce between 15,000 and 20,000 larvae per spawning cycle.
- Newly hatched redfish can swim well at birth and are soon able to forage for plankton (tiny floating plants and animals).
- Their survival rate is relatively high compared with that of egg-laying fish.
- Young redfish stay in the upper waters feeding on small crustaceans until they are about 2 inches long.
- In the fall, the young settle to the ocean bottom.
- Older redfish feed on larger invertebrates and small fish.
Where They Live
Range - Acadian redfish are found in the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Norway to Georges Bank.
Habitat - Acadian redfish are found over rocky, mud, or clay ocean bottoms.
- Off New England they are most common in the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine (to depths of 975 feet).
- They tend to move off the bottom at night to feed and move closer to shore in the winter.
Fishery Management
- We manage a single stock of Acadian redfish in U.S. waters.
- NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council manage the fishery.
- Redfish, along with other groundfish in New England waters, are managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which includes:
- Permitting requirements for commercial vessels.
- Separate management measures for recreational vessels.
- Time/Area Closures to protect spawning fish and habitat.
- Minimum fish sizes to prevent harvest of juvenile fish.
- Annual catch limits, based on best available science.
- An optional sector (catch share) program can be used for cod and other groundfish species. The sector program allows fishermen to form harvesting cooperatives and work together to decide when, where, and how they harvest fish.
Harvest
- Commercial fishery:
- In 2022, commercial landings of Acadian redfish totaled 8.4million pounds and were valued at $5.8million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.
- NOAA Fisheries has been working with fishermen to increase opportunities to harvest redfish.
- Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
- Redfish are most commonly harvested using trawl nets, although they are sometimes also caught using gillnets, bottom longline, and rod and reel.
- Area closures and gear restrictions reduce habitat impacts from trawl nets.
- Fishermen follow management measures to designed to reduce interactions with marine mammals, including gear modifications, seasonal closures, and use of marine mammal deterrents.
- Recreational fishery:
- Acadian redfish are not a common target of anglers but may be encountered when targeting other groundfish species like cod and haddock.
- Regulations are limited to a minimum fish size in federal waters.
Scientific Classification
- Acadian redfish are found in the Atlantic Ocean from the coast of Norway to Georges Bank.
- Acadian redfish are found over rocky, mud, or clay ocean bottoms.
- Off New England they are most common in the deep waters of the Gulf of Maine (to depths of 975 feet).
- They tend to move off the bottom at night to feed and move closer to shore in the winter.
Fishery Management
- We manage a single stock of Acadian redfish in U.S. waters.
- NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council manage the fishery.
- Redfish, along with other groundfish in New England waters, are managed under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, which includes:
- Permitting requirements for commercial vessels.
- Separate management measures for recreational vessels.
- Time/Area Closures to protect spawning fish and habitat.
- Minimum fish sizes to prevent harvest of juvenile fish.
- Annual catch limits, based on best available science.
- An optional sector (catch share) program can be used for cod and other groundfish species. The sector program allows fishermen to form harvesting cooperatives and work together to decide when, where, and how they harvest fish.
Harvest
- Commercial fishery:
- In 2022, commercial landings of Acadian redfish totaled 8.4million pounds and were valued at $5.8million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.
- NOAA Fisheries has been working with fishermen to increase opportunities to harvest redfish.
- Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
- Redfish are most commonly harvested using trawl nets, although they are sometimes also caught using gillnets, bottom longline, and rod and reel.
- Area closures and gear restrictions reduce habitat impacts from trawl nets.
- Fishermen follow management measures to designed to reduce interactions with marine mammals, including gear modifications, seasonal closures, and use of marine mammal deterrents.
- Recreational fishery:
- Acadian redfish are not a common target of anglers but may be encountered when targeting other groundfish species like cod and haddock.
- Regulations are limited to a minimum fish size in federal waters.
- Acadian redfish are not a common target of anglers but may be encountered when targeting other groundfish species like cod and haddock.
Scientific Classification
| Kingdom | Animalia | Phylum | Chordata | Class | Actinopterygii | Order | Scorpaeniformes | Family | Scorpaenidae | Genus | Sebastes | Species | fasciatus |
|---|
Last updated by NOAA Fisheries on 05/06/2024
