This species was referred to as Sebastes marinus by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) until 2014. Sebastes norvegicus and S. mentella have been considered subspecies or morphotypes of the same species in the past (Andriashev 1954) and the species are not easy to distinguish by morphology (Christensen et al. 2018). Taxonomic research is needed to investigate the possible existence of cryptic species (Saha et al. 2017).

This relatively deep-living (50–1,250 m) species is widely distributed in the northern Atlantic/Arctic. The three generation period is about 98.25 years, representing a past time period of ~1926–2024. It has intrinsic biological characteristics, including long-lived (longevity ~50–60 years), delayed maturity and sporadic reproductive success, that increase its vulnerability to declines and documented declines have occurred. This species is exploited by commercial fisheries. Fishery management and fishing regulation, including population monitoring, catch limits and spatial closures, are in place and these measures continue to the present. There are formal stock assessments conducted for this species for the majority of its global population. The largest stock, which is inferred to comprise at least 70% of this species' global biomass, is in Iceland, the Faroes and East Greenland, though there is some uncertainty due to some fishery statistics not being species-specific. The second largest, which represents about 20% of its global population, occurs in the Northeast Arctic. Other smaller stocks exist in the western Atlantic (Canada and West Greenland). Biomass in the Iceland, Faroes, East Greenland stock is currently at a level higher than the historical peak but has been declining since 2016 and this trend is projected to continue over the next decade due to low recruitment and there is concern regarding the future productivity of this stock. Biomass in the Northeast Arctic stock declined by ~63% since 1986 and the stock is considered severely depleted. For the remaining stocks in Canada and West Greenland, species-specific information is limited (i.e., several redfish species are often reported together), but survey indices indicate that redfish biomass is currently low compared to historical levels in West Greenland and Canada, while it is currently relatively high on the Flemish Cap. In addition, rapid ocean warming in the Arctic region due to climate change is reducing the resilience of this species.

Based on weighing the biomass declines across all stocks by the approximate proportion of the global biomass that each stock represents, this species has undergone an inferred total average biomass decline of about 19% over the past three generations. More than 90% of the global population/range is under formal and effective fishery management. It is assessed as Least Concern with a recommendation to continue fishery management and population monitoring, reduce fishing mortality and research population trends, connectivity, recruitment and life history.

This species occurs in the Atlantic-Arctic region (Mecklenburg et al. 2011) from New Jersey to the Gulf of Maine in the U.S., Gulf of St. Lawrence, Newfoundland Banks, Flemish Cap, and Labrador Sea to Davis Strait in Canada, to southern Baffin Bay, Greenland, Irminger Sea, Reykjanes Ridge, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Jan Mayen, Skagerrak and northern North Sea, Norwegian and Barents Seas, Svalbard, and White Sea (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). The depth range is 50 to 1,250 m (Mecklenburg et al. 2011).

This species is very common in Iceland (Mecklenburg et al. 2018) and common off Greenland, off Europe, and south to the Skagerrak, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the Newfoundland Banks, Flemish Cap, and Labrador and Baffin Island (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). It is not common in the Davis Strait, southern Baffin Bay and Jan Mayen (Mecklenburg et al. 2018) and is rare in the White Sea (Rolskii et al. 2020), Kattegat, and the Baltic Sound (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). In the western Atlantic, it is most common north of Cabot Strait, Canada and is common in the Gulf of St. Lawrence northward to Labrador and Baffin Island. It is uncommon in the U.S. with only rare occurrences in the Gulf of Maine (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). This species is easily confused with Sebastes mentella, with which it co-occurs in fisheries catches and ecology (Christensen et al. 2018).

Based on a comparison of historical landings data and biomass estimates and general literature review, and for the purposes of estimating population percent decline on a global level for this Red List assessment, the proportion that the Icelandic stock represents is at least 70% and the Northeast Arctic stock represents ~20%. Smaller stocks in Canada, West Greenland and the Flemish Cap collectively represent ~10%. There is some uncertainty associated with these estimates due to some fishery statistics not being species-specific. Across these stocks, and by applying a weighted decline depending on the assumed proportion of each stock, biomass declined by an average of 19% over the past three generations (~98.25 years; ~1926–2024).

Eastern Atlantic: In the eastern Atlantic, which comprises the majority of this species' present-day global biomass, the fishery stocks are managed in two main units: Northeast Arctic (ICES subareas 1 and 2) and Iceland and Faroes grounds, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East of Greenland (ICES subareas 5, 6, 12, and 14). Based on average landings and SSB reported in both stocks, it is inferred that the latter stock is approximately four times the size of the Northeast Arctic stock (ICES AFWG 2022, ICES NWWG 2023).

Northeast Arctic: In the Northeast Arctic, there is no directed fishery for this species but it is landed as bycatch in several commercial fisheries that operate in the area. Biomass estimates in the Northeast Arctic stock are available for the period of 1986 to 2021. Overall, total biomass declined nearly continuously by 63% from 132,280 t in 1986 to 49,180 t in 2021. This declining trend is expected to continue due to generally low recruitment rates, especially prior to 2005, and overexploitation. As the state of this stock is "severely depleted", ICES recommends a precautionary approach to fishery management that allows zero catch in 2023 and 2024; however, fishing mortality remains well above the sustainable level (ICES 2022, ICES AFWG 2023).

Iceland and Faroes grounds, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East of Greenland: On a global level, the most important fishing grounds for this species are off southwest and west Iceland and Rosengarten (the area between Iceland and the Faroe Islands). Total landings of this species significantly declined (70%) since 1982 and the majority (90%) of global landings are taken from Icelandic waters by a directed trawl fishery and as bycatch in other commercial fisheries. SSB estimates are available for this stock for the period of 1966 to 2023. By comparison over the entire time series, SSB was 233,458 t in 1966 and 293,541 t in 2023, indicating no overall decline over the past ~48 years; however, biomass has fluctuated widely during this time period, with a period of steep decline occurring from the early 1980s to 1994 and a subsequent period of steep increase to 2015. Recruitment was relatively high during 2000-2013 and spawning stock biomass correspondingly increased, but recruitment has been generally low since 2014. Total biomass and SSB remain at high levels (as of 2023), but have been declining since 2016 by about 28% and this trend is projected to continue over the next decade due to low recruitment and there is concern regarding the future productivity of this stock (ICES NWWG 2023).

Western Atlantic: In the western Atlantic, this species is much less common than other redfish species, Sebastes mentella and S. fasciatus (Cadigan et al. 2022). There are 14 redfish stocks in the western Atlantic and most are focused on S. mentella and S. fasciatus (Cadigan et al. 2022).

On the Flemish Cap (Division 3M), the redfish stock assessment is primarily built on data from S. mentella and S. fasciatus, but all three redfish species, including S. norvegicus, are managed as a single unit (Nogueira et al. 2019). Fishing mortality has declined significantly since the 1980s and 1990s. SSB declined from 1988 to 2000 and steeply increased to levels well above 1988 until a peak in 2014. As of 2022, SSB remains well above the long term mean but has been declining since 2014 due to an extended period of low recruitment (NAFO 2023).

In West Greenland (subarea 1), there is no directed fishery for this species but it is landed as bycatch in commercial fisheries. Population trends of this species in West Greenland are not well-understood in general due to lack of data, but survey indices indicate that the biomass of this species is far below historical levels with a 90% decline occurring since the beginning of the time series in 1981 and biomass has been at a low level since the early 1990s. Recruitment and fishing mortality are not known and the current scientific advice is to allow no directed fishing on this stock (NAFO 2023).

In Canada on the Labrador Shelf (subarea 2 + division 3K) and further north (subarea 0), the redfish stock is assessed as a complex of all three species, S. mentella, S. fasciatus and S. norvegicus, with S. mentella representing the majority of the data. Recruitment varies widely by year. No directed fishing has been allowed for the stock on the Labrador Shelf since 1997 and a directed fishery has never been established in the area further north (subarea 0) though it is landed as bycatch. Population trends are not well-understood in general due to the lack of data, but according to survey indices (1978–2020), redfish biomass levels have remained low since declining in the mid-1980s. In general, redfish populations in Canada have declined by 95% as compared to historical levels. Fishing mortality still occurs on the Labrador Shelf as redfish species are landed as bycatch and the impact from these removals is not known (DFO 2023).

This epi- to meso-benthopelagic species inhabits continental shelves, fjords, and steep continental slopes (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). Juveniles live in fjords, bays, and inshore waters between 50 and 350 m depth and adults occur offshore and increase in size at greater depths. Juveniles primarily feed on zooplankton and adults feed on krill, capelin, herring and cod. The maximum recorded length is 122 cm but it more commonly reaches between 35 to 55 cm (Mecklenburg et al. 2018). Sexual maturity is reached at about 12 years of age and longevity can exceed 50-60 years (Mecklenburg et al. 2011, ICES 2023). The natural mortality is assumed to be 0.05 (ICES NWWG 2023).

Generation length: One of the recommended methods in the IUCN Red List Guidelines for calculating generation length (IUCN Standards and Petitions Committee 2022) is “Age of first reproduction + [z * (length of the reproductive period)], where z is a number between 0 and 1; z is usually <0.5, depending on survivorship and the relative fecundity of young vs. old individuals in the population.”. Here, we use 12 years as age of first reproduction for this species, and longevity of 55 years. However, the constant z currently is not known, therefore we use z = 0.5 to estimate a likely maximum generation length for the species: 12 + [0.5 * (55-12)] = 33.5 years. Therefore, we estimate three generations to be around 100.5 years.

Based on a natural mortality of 0.05 and age at maturity of 12 years, and applying an alternative equation recommended by the IUCN Red List methods: 1/adult mortality + age of first reproduction, the generation length is about 32 years. Therefore, we estimate three generations to be around 96 years.

Based on these two estimates, the three generation period applied for the purposes of this Red List assessment is about 98.25 years based on a single generation length of about 32.75 years.

This species can be impacted by changes in water temperature, predation, competition, food availability, density-dependent effects and fishing. Intrinsic traits exhibited by this species, including long-lived (longevity of ~50–60 years), slow growth rate, low productivity and late maturity cause it to be vulnerable to overexploitation and populations can only sustain low rates of fishing mortality (Cadigan et al. 2022, ICES AFWG 2022, ICES NWWG 2023).

According to a vulnerability traits analysis and climate change models of the north Atlantic, environmental changes associated with climate change may reduce the capacity of this species to recover from declines (Cheung et al. 2022). Sea temperatures have been rapidly increasing in the Arctic due to climate change, and shifts in fish communities in general have been documented and predicted in several publications (e.g., Kortsch et al. 2015, Husson et al. 2022, Mérillet et al. 2022, Emblemsvåg et al. 2022, Gordó-Vilaseca et al. 2023). The impact of climate change on this species will likely vary within its range and further research is needed.

This species is directly targeted by commercial fisheries in part of its range and is landed as bycatch in commercial fisheries through most of its range (ICES AFWF 2023, ICES NWWG 2023, Cadigan et al. 2022).

This species was listed as Vulnerable according to a Europe regional Red List assessment conducted in 2013 and as Endangered according to a Norway national Red List assessment conducted in 2015.

In Greenland and Iceland, fishing is regulated by total allowable catch and a vessel quota system and measures are in place to reduce capture of juveniles in shrimp fisheries (ICES NWWG 2023). Fishery management in Icelandic waters has improved significantly since the 1990s and most fish stocks are now sustainably managed (Gunnlaugsson and Valtysson 2022). In East Greenland, where the fishery statistics are split between Sebastes norvegicus and S. mentella, improvements are needed to separate the statistics.

In the Northeast Arctic, research is needed to separate fishery statistics from Sebastes mentella and further bycatch reduction is needed to prevent capture of this species in other fisheries (ICES 2022). Fishing regulations in the Northeast Arctic include the prohibition of directed fisheries, area closures (for bycatch reduction), catch and size limits and gear restrictions (ICES 2023).

In the western Atlantic, research on redfish species is needed to improve biological sampling, inform stock assessment methods, separate fishery and survey statistics to the species level, and reduce the occurrence of small individuals in fishery catches (Cadigan et al. 2022).

Taxonomic research is needed (Saha et al. 2017). Research needs for this species also include more information about basic life history parameters, age, growth, migration, spawning grounds, connectivity, and recruitment drivers.