Angler (Lophius piscatorius)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bony fish (Actinopterygii) > Fish |
| Red List Status: | (Not Relevant) [(not listed)(nr)] |
| D5 Status: | |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Lophius piscatorius |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | (not listed) |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Global population trend is unknown. Red list status in England is unknown. |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Status review required |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | No |
| Justification: | This species would not benefit from untargeted management |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 1. Taxonomy established |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Low - Combination or other (detail in comments) |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Opportunistic - insufficient |
| Species Comments: | Vulnerable to overfishing Trawling bycatch |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Through supporting the implementation of a Fishery Management Plan for the white angler fish, and as part of the Fishery Improvement Plan continue to reduce discards, increase survivability and understanding catch composition. Build in recommendations for minimum landing size to account for size at maturation.
Action targets: 7. Best approach adopted at appropriate scales
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: 2 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: There is little information on eggs, larvae and juvenile stages and the spawning grounds are not well identified so more work on this would be beneficial in order to direct management and protection of spawning areas.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Build understanding of anglerfish migration to inform population management and protection.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites:
Comments:
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.