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OCEAN CATFISH WOLFFISH Anarhichas lupus

Ocean catfish is common all around Iceland but is most abundant off the northwest in February to May. Catfish is demersal and feeds mainly on various shellfish. Normal habitat is at depths of 10 - 300 m but it is mainly found at 40 - 180 m. The most common age at catch is 10 - 15 years and the length is 60 - 85 cm. Tagging experiments have shown that ocean catfish migrates extensively in Icelandic waters.

Catfish is caught by trawling and longline.

Catfish catches have varied from 8,000-18,000 tonnes annually in the past 30 years with an average catch of 13,000 tonnes. Catfish landings from Icelandic waters were 16,400 tonnes in 2006. TAC for this species was first set for the fishing year 1996/97 but landings have frequently been somewhat in excess of recommendations. It is recognised that fishing effort for this species may have been excessive at times in the past and most likely also in the past few years. The TAC set for 2007/2008 is 12,500 tonnes, while the Marine Research Institute recommended a TAC of 11,000 tonnes. 

The diagram shows the development of the catfish catch since 2001, together with the recommendations of the MRI and the set TACs.
Fashion accessories Catfish skin has found uses in fashion in recent years. Somewhat similar to snake skin in properties it must be worked carefully after skinning fresh catfish by hand. Tanned skins from catfish and spotted catfish are used mainly for belts, handbags and small ornaments.

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