Greenland Halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides)
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: | Reinhardtius hippoglossoides |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | (Walbaum, 1792) |
| 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: | Near threatened and decreasing globally and 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: | Greenland halibut is a relatively slow-growing and late-maturing species. Targeted by fisheries. Global status is near threatened and the population is decreasing. Pressures outside of England. Any England only measures will likely have limited if any appreciable impact due to Greenland halibut not generally being found in English waters. Usually restricted to waters further north. |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Most of the information available on biology, growth, spawning and fisheries is from further North and West of English waters. There is considerable doubt as to whether Greenland halibut are native to the south of the Wyville Thomson Ridge. Therefore development of a study to increase knowledge on distribution & use of English waters by the species may be beneficial in targeting management.
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: 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.