Norwegian record Spotted wolffish: 27.9 kg

About Spotted wolffish

The spotted wolffish (Anarhichas minor) is a big, heavy wolffish that can grow to about 1.8 m and over 20 kg. It has the classic wolffish build: a heavy head, blunt snout and powerful jaws with prominent canine-like front teeth. Colour ranges from pale olive to brownish yellow, scattered with large dark spots. It prefers cold water, often below 5 °C, and lives at about 25–550 m right across the North Atlantic. In Norway it is found from the west coast north to Svalbard. It crushes hard-shelled prey such as sea urchins, starfish, snails and mussels. Spawning takes place in winter; the female attaches a ball of eggs to the seabed and the male guards it until hatching. It is caught commercially with longline, gillnet and trawl, and it may occasionally take a bait when anglers fish deep along the bottom in the north. Norwegian Red List 2021: Least Concern (LC).

Sources: Artsdatabanken, Store norske leksikon, Wikipedia

• Habitat: Saltvann
• Best month: August

See the species guide

Biggest Spotted wolffish in FishComp

Caught a Spotted wolffish? Log it in FishComp.

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.