Population status of Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum, 1793) of the Laptev Sea

Abstract

This is the first study to perform a comparative genetic analysis of Greenland halibut in the samples from the Atlantic (waters of west and east of Greenland), Arctic (Laptev Sea), and Pacific (the western part of the Bering Sea) ocean basins using seven microsatellite loci. The obtained data clearly demonstrate that the Greenland halibut population in the Laptev Sea belongs to the groups of the Atlantic Ocean basin. Apparently, the Greenland halibut of the Laptev Sea is represented by a dependent population, which is replenished due to the drift of immatures from the spawning grounds in the Barents Sea with the transformed Atlantic water flow along the continental slope. In addition, the Arctic population can be partially replenished due to the breeding of the halibut in local spawning grounds.

Pan-Arctic suitable habitat model for Greenland halibut

“…While our model suggests a relatively large geographic distance between the eastern Bering Sea spawning area (Sohn et al, 2010;Duffy-Anderson et al, 2013) and the suitable habitat in the Arctic Ocean, it is still possible that individuals move between these locations as has been shown for the Atlantic side where Greenland halibut migrate from Svalbard to Iceland (Albert and Vollen, 2015). So far, the only studies comparing the Bering Sea population with Atlantic populations using microsatellites indicated that these populations might be genetically separated (Orlova et al, 2017(Orlova et al, , 2019. Further, studies have suggested that Greenland halibut is divided into two populations in the North Atlantic: the Northwest containing Newfoundland, Davis Strait and Baffin Bay, and the Northeast containing Iceland, Norway, and Russia (Knutsen et al, 2007;Westgaard et al, 2017), while another study in the Northwest Atlantic found evidence for panmixia (Roy et al, 2014).…”

“…Greenland halibut (Reinhardtius hippoglossoides; also known as Greenland turbot or black halibut) is a commercially important flatfish supporting demersal fisheries in northern regions of both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans (Smidt, 1969;Godø and Haug, 1989;Bowering and Brodie, 1995) with some records along the continental slope of the Arctic Ocean (Figure 1; Hedges et al, 2017;Majewski et al, 2017;Orlova et al, 2017;Mecklenburg et al, 2018). Although considered a demersal species, Greenland halibut largely feed on pelagic prey (Hovde et al, 2002;Vollen and Albert, 2008;Dwyer et al, 2010;Giraldo et al, 2018) and individuals may be in the pelagic realm for 10-20% of the time (Albert et al, 2011).…”

In Vivo Skin Hydrating Efficacy of Fish Collagen from Greenland Halibut as a High-Value Active Ingredient for Cosmetic Applications

“…Greenland Halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides (Walbaum, 1793) is a widespread commercially valuable species, which may be found in large quantities in the northernmost regions of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans as well as in the Arctic seas [ 34 ]. This species is also important groundfish fishery in Atlantic Canada [ 35 ].…”

First Record of the Northern Wolffish Anarhichas denticulatus Krøyer, 1845 (Anarhichadidae: Zoarcoidei: Perciformes) in the Siberian Arctic: Further Evidence of Atlantification?

“…The impact of Atlantification on individual fish species and fish communities in the Arctic has not been sufficiently studied. Most of the published information on this problem concerns the European Arctic (mainly the Barents Sea and Greenland waters) or the range extensions into Arctic waters of large boreal fish species capable of distant active migrations, such as Atlantic cod Gadus morhua, haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus, beaked redfish Sebastes mentella, and Greenland halibut Reinhardtius hippoglossoides [3,12,[15][16][17][18].…”