Ling (Molva molva)
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: | Molva molva |
| 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: | 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: | Policy conflict - fishing. Stock status: data limited. Exploitation status: Overfished. Pressures outside England. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Further work is needed to collect data on the species ecology and behaviour to be able to determine the suitability of management measures.
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 2
Proposed Action: Identification of spawning grounds and their extent in the deeper waters of the continental shelf and along the continental slope. Data are too limited to draw firm conclusions on spawning in the northern North Sea, in the deeper waters of the western Channel and Celtic Sea and western seaboards of Ireland and Scotland, so further investigation of these spawning areas would be beneficial.
Action targets: 4. Autecology and pressures understood
Action type: Targeted monitoring
Duration: 3-5 years
Scale of Implementation: National
High priority sites: North sea, Western Channel, Celtic Sea, Western seaboards of Ireland and Scotland
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Update England Red List status.
Action targets: 2. Biological status assessment exists
Action type: Status survey/review
Duration: 1 year
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.