Norwegian record Blackbelly rosefish: 2.06 kg

About Blackbelly rosefish

The blackbelly rosefish (Helicolenus dactylopterus), also called bluemouth, is named for the bluish-black lining of its mouth and gill cavity. It is a stocky scorpionfish with a large spiny head, big eyes and a reddish to orange body with darker irregular bands. It is mistaken for a redfish, but has only 11 or 12 spines in the front of the dorsal fin, and the lowest pectoral rays are partly free. Most are up to 25 cm; the maximum is about 47 cm and 1.5 kg, and it can live over 40 years. It sits on soft bottoms of the shelf and upper slope, usually at 150 to 600 m, ambushing crustaceans, small fish and squid. Females bear live young in spring and summer. It lives in the eastern and western Atlantic; in Norway it is common between Lindesnes and Vikna and scarcer further north. Anglers fishing baits deep catch one now and then. Norwegian Red List 2021: Least Concern (LC).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Wikipedia

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: August
• Red list status: LC (2021)

See the species guide

Biggest Blackbelly rosefish in FishComp

400 g (19 % of the record) by Cato Tangen. See the catch

How to register a Norwegian record

1. Norwegian sport-fishing records are registered with Villmarksliv, not with FishComp. Read the rules before you do anything else with the fish.
2. Records are based on weight and approved by a jury. You give the weight and length, where it was caught, the gear you used and any witnesses.
3. Keep your photos and notes from the catch. Logging it in FishComp does not register a record.