Roundnose Grenadier Coryphaenoides rupestris; Gunnerus, 1765. Family: Macrouridae
This species is widely distributed in the north Atlantic from Canada, round the south of Greenland, Iceland, Faroes and southwards along the continental margin of the British Isles to west Africa.
The roundnose grenadier has a depth distribution from about 500-1,800 metres. Although, as with deep-water species, validation of age is a problem it is thought that lives for at least 30 years.
This species is the mainstay of the French deep-water fishery with total international landings from waters to the west of the British Isles reaching 11,850 tonnes in 2001. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea ( ICES) advised in 2002 that this rate of exploitation was unlikely to be sustainable, and so the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for EU vessels in 2003 has been set at 5,106 tonnes.