Greater Forkbeard (Phycis Blennoides), in Subareas 1-10, 12 and 14

Updated in 2024.

The Greater forkbeard is a gadoid fish which is widely distributed in the North-eastern Atlantic from Norway and Iceland to Cape Blanc in West Africa and the Mediterranean (Svetovidov, 1986; Cohen et al., 1990). It is distributed along the continental shelf and slope in depths ranging between 60 and 800 meters but recent observations on board of commercial longliners and research surveys extend the depth range to below 1000 m (Stefanescu et al., 1992).

Unfortunately very little is known about stock structure of the species. Currently ICES considered greater forkbeard as a single stock for all the ICES area greater forkbeard in the Northeast Atlantic. Probably the stocks structure is more complex, but further studies needs to be implemented to allow a scientific basis for the stock structure.