Coley

Stock Status Score: 0

Icelandic coley, or saithe, is not overfished or subject to overfishing.

Stock assessments are carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2026 using data up to 2026. The next assessment is expected in 2027.

The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY Btrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY Btrigger. 

Coley fishing in Iceland dates back to at least the early 1900s. Catches peaked at 100,000 tonnes in the early 1990s before dropping sharply to 30,000t by the early 2000s. Recent catches have been around 37,000t.

The spawning-stock biomass (SSB) was around 130,000t throughout the 1980s, fell to 60,000t in the mid-90s and has since increased. In 2026 it is 150,803t, which is well above target levels (MSY BTrigger , 61,000t) and among the highest on record. The stock is therefore not in an overfished state.

The Harvest Rate (HR) was high between 1989 and 2013, exceeding levels associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (HR MSY, 0.2). After briefly falling below this level from 2016-2020, it is now just above MSY. In 2025, HR was 0.167, below HR MSY, indicating that the stock not subject to overfishing.

Based on Iceland's management plan, catches in the fishing year 2026/2027 should be no more than 49,887 tonnes. This is a 16% decrease on the advice from the previous year due to the downward revision of the stock size.

Management of the Target Stock Score: 0

Alignment with Scientific Advice Score: 0

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Score: 0

There is a management plan in place, which has successfully reduced fishing pressure. Catch limits are set in line with scientific advice and are expected to keep the stock at target levels. All Icelandic saithe landed by the Icelandic fleet is MSC certified.

This fishery is MSC certified with conditions relating to bycatch and environmental impacts. There are no requirements or recommendations to make any improvements to management.

The Icelandic Ministry of Industries and Innovation (MII) is responsible for management of the Icelandic fisheries and implementation of legislation. Improved management measures by Iceland for most of its major stocks, including cod, haddock, saithe, redfish and herring have resulted in decreased fishing mortality, increased stocks and reduced pressure on benthic habitats.

A Harvest Control Rule (HCR) is in place for saithe and is reviewed every five years. ICES considers it to be precautionary. It sets catch limits (Total Allowable Catches, TACs) with the aim of maintaining saithe at Maximum Sustainable Yield. There is quite high uncertainty in estimates for stock size, but the saithe management plan has been designed to take this into account. TACs have been set in line with scientific advice since 2013/14. Landings have consistently been less than the TACs and advice, even when including foreign fleets (to whom the TAC does not apply).

According to the most recent stock assessment in 2022, the stock biomass is among the highest levels on record but estimated fishing pressure is slightly above MSY.

Saithe is often caught as part of the cod fishery, meaning catch limits for cod may be keeping saithe catches low, and also making it likely that saithe quota is being transferred to other, more economically viable, species. It is also possible that the stock size has been overestimated and the TACs have been set too high. This is somewhat mitigated by the management plan accounting for the uncertainty in the stock assessment.

In addition to TACs, the following measures are in place:

• There is no minimum landing size because all catches must be landed by law. To prevent catching juveniles, there are some dynamic closures in areas when a certain proportion of catches includes undersize fish.
• Since 1998 the minimum codend mesh size allowed in the trawling fishery has been 135 mm, which could reduce the catch of undersize fish.
• Spawning areas are closed for 2-3 weeks during the spawning season for all fisheries.

The effects of these measures have not been evaluated.

Discarding unwanted fish at sea is banned by the Icelandic government. The estimated discarding of saithe is low, likely because the saithe quota has often been difficult to catch. For the same reason incentive for misreporting is considered to be small.

There are a series of measures for monitoring and enforcement, including: publication of individual vessel quotas, independent verification and recording of landings, gear restrictions (and inspections), catch logs, and the coast guard has powers to intercept and inspect vessels.

Capture Method Score: 0.5

Habitat Impacts: 0

Bycatch Impacts: 0.25

Vulnerable and ETP Species: 0.5

Ecosystems and Trophic Webs: 0.25

Some saithe is caught by gillnetting, which can have a bycatch of vulnerable species such as cetaceans and seabirds. There are a number of measures in place to reduce bycatch, but more needs to be done to ensure they are effective.

100% of Icelandic cod landed by the Icelandic fleet is MSC certified. 100% of Icelandic saithe landed by the Icelandic fleet is MSC certified. Around 90% of saithe catches are from bottom trawling and around 5% from gillnetting.

Gillnets and fixed nets can be very size selective, but can bycatch species such as seabirds, cetaceans and other marine mammals. Bycatch reporting in this fishery is mandatory, but data appears to be patchy and bycatch rates are uncertain. Gillnet effort has been reducing over the last couple of decades, which is likely to have reduced bycatch. The Marine Stewardship Council indicates that harbour porpoise and northern fulmar bycatch are the main concerns for this fishery. The certification is conditional on better recording of interactions with Endangered, Threatened and Protected Species, and better data to ensure that bycatch is not causing populations to decline or hindering their recovery.

It is estimated that 1,500-2,000 harbour porpoises are caught annually in gillnets around Iceland. Trends in harbour porpoise populations around Iceland are unknown. NAMMCO indicates that recent estimates put the population at roughly 20,000-40,000 individuals, although these may be underestimates. The IUCN red list puts the species at 'Least Concern'. Therefore, populations would appear to be at healthy levels. However, the available data puts the catch rate at 3-5% of the porpoise population, which is above the ASCOBANS recommended upper limit of 1.7%. Gillnetting therefore has a possibility of affecting harbour porpoise populations in this area, but more data are needed to confirm this.

There may also be bycatch of seals. These numbers appear to be at low levels (1-10 per year, based on scarce data). The highest impacts on populations are attributed to hunting and the Icelandic lumpfish fishery.

A number of seabird species in Icelandic waters have declined in recent decades, but ICES notes that the main cause is thought to be reduced prey availability. However, the gillnet bycatch rate of northern fulmars is estimated to be roughly 1,500 annually. This could possibly be contributing to the species' decline or preventing it from recovering. It's also possible that the mixed demersal gillnet fishery is having some impact on common loon populations, but data around this is very uncertain. Bycatch is estimated at around 50 per year.

Sharks and skates are taken as bycatch in Icelandic fisheries, but catch rates are incomplete and the status of stocks is unknown. The endangered Atlantic halibut is impacted by fisheries around Iceland, so a mandatory release of viable halibut and a landings ban were introduced in 2012.

There are no mandatory mitigation measures to prevent gillnet bycatch. There have been trials on some types of pinger, but these increased porpoise bycatch, and so have not been adopted. Further research is underway.

Because of gillnets' durability (they are made of nylon), if lost, they can continue to fish for several weeks before becoming tangled and bundled up, a phenomenon known as 'ghost fishing'. However, static nets, as with all gear, represent an investment by fishermen, and therefore there are incentives to avoid losing or damaging gear.