In early October 2000 an exploratory fishing for oceanic redfish have been conducted by one Spanish
pelagic trawler in the NAFO Regulatory Area of Div. 1F. One scientific observer was on board this vessel during the
whole fishing period.
The seasonal and geographic distribution pattern of the fishing effort in the Spanish oceanic redfish fishery
is presented. A shift in the fleet activity towards the south and west is observed between the second and third
quarter, approaching the vicinity of the NAFO Convention area. In the fourth quarter no fishing activity occurred in
the Irminger Sea, and the fleet activity concentrated in NAFO Div. 1F.
The length distribution in NAFO Div. 1F is similar to the one recorded in the NEAFC oceanic redfish
fishery by the Spanish and German fleets in the upper 500 m layer.
Only 11 % of the females and 5 % of the redfish males caught in NAFO 1F were immature (juveniles). The
majority of the adult females were sexually inactive, while 49 % of the adult males were at the fully ripe stage, so it
could be a mating concentration