Redfish

The redfish has, as the name suggests, beautiful red skin with large scales and spiked fins. It has a firm textured meat which turns from pinkish to white when cooked and has a delicate flavour.

Habitat

There are two closely related species of redfish, hard to tell apart, living in the oceans around Greenland; Sebastus Mentella and Sebastes Marinus. Sebastes marinus prefers depths of 100-400 m relatively close to the coast, while Sebastes mentella lives further out, down to 900 m.

Biology

Redfish mate in late autumn and are live-bearers, spawning live young in early summer. This means that they produce relatively few young. Redfish grow very slowly and can live for up to 50 years. Grown redfish feed on fry, capelin and herring.

Catching Methods

Bottom trawl and long-line.

Catching Area

Nutritional Value

The redfish is low in saturated fat and high in protein, while at the same time being low in calories. Redfish contains Niacin, Vitamin B6, Phosphorus and Potassium, and is a very good source of Protein, Vitamin B12 and Selenium.

Size

Typical size: 25-50 cm, 2-4 kg

Name

Latin: Sebastes mentella/marinus

German: Grosser Rotbarsch

French: Sébaste

Spanish: Gallineta nórdica

Italian: Scorfano di Norvegia

Danish: Rødfisk

Dutch: Roodbaars

Portugese: Peixe vermelho

Inspiration

Cooking Instructions

Redfish is best baked or poached, because gentle cooking brings out the delicate flavour of the fish.

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