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Stock Status within the North Sea Haddock
Key Findings
- Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) is a demersal species occurring throughout the northern North Sea, more commonly found off north-eastern Scotland. They usually exhibit spawning activity between February and May, peaking between mid-March and early April (fig. 1), and then migrate westward toward the Orkney and Shetland Islands and into the central North Sea to feed. The eggs and larvae are pelagic and found in surface waters, whereas the juveniles enter their bottom-dwelling phase at about seven months of age. The juveniles are at their highest density off the northeast Scottish coast in late summer.
- Haddock is exploited commercially in mixed trawl and seine fishing, and as a bycatch species in Norway lobster fisheries.
- North Sea Haddock are considered to be a 'Good Choice' by the Marine Conservation Society.
- Landings for local ports are not listed within Scottish Fisheries Statistics. Combined Scottish catches are shown in Figure 3 between 2011 and 2023 where broadly stable but showed regular variations..
- Catches of Haddock have been reducing since the mid 1990s in response to reduced stock biomass (numbers of fish). However, since 2020 the stock biomass has been increasing.
Figure 1: Nursery area for Haddock in Scotland
Figure 2: ICES Stock assessment for Haddock
Figure 3: Scottish Fisheries Statistics 2021 - Tonnage and value of Haddock landings by Scottish Vessels into Scotland
Notes
Linked Information Sheets
Seafood Landings by Tonnage into the North East of Scotland - Employment in the fishing industry offshore - Employment in the fishing industry onshore - Markets for Seafood - Fraserburgh Harbour, Peterhead Harbour - Aberdeen Harbour - Small Harbours north of Aberdeen - Small Harbours South of Aberdeen - Status of key commercial species - Numbers of fishing vessels - Training - Employment - Mackerel line catch value
Key sources of Information
Reviewed on/by
Status
Live. Next Update due 09/01/2026
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E-mail: ian.hay@stateofthecoast.scot
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