Species

Golden redfish

A bright golden-red deep-water fish with spiny fins that gives birth to live young and can live up to 60 years; also sold as rose fish or ocean perch.

Sebastes norvegicus

Photo: Havforskningsinstituttet, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 4.0, adjusted to 3:2

Spawning: Live-bearing: larvae are born April to June (Wikipedia), in winter according to FishBase
Typical method: Deep-sea fishing from a boat with a heavy sinker
Top bait: Fish strip

Plan a day fishing for Golden redfish

How to recognise it

Strong golden-red skin without dark spots, pink belly
Dorsal fin with 14 to 16 hard spines, usually 15
Dark rear gill cover, the two lower spines on the preopercle point forwards and down

Easily confused with: Other red Sebastes species of the North Atlantic look similar, such as the smaller Norway redfish (Sebastes viviparus). In German shops Sebastes norvegicus is also sold as Goldbarsch (German Wikipedia).

How to catch it

Methods: Deep-sea fishing from a boat with a heavy sinker, Natural bait on a paternoster rig

Baits: Fish strip, Mackerel strip, Small pirk with teaser

Only from a boat in deep water, adults mostly at 100 to 500 m (FishBase). In Norway the golden redfish (uer) is on the list of seasonally protected species; the Directorate of Fisheries does not give the periods there, so ask your camp or the Directorate before fishing (checked 20.10.2026).

Habitat and food

North Atlantic from Spitsbergen and Novaya Zemlya along the Norwegian coast and Iceland to Greenland and New Jersey (German Wikipedia); FishBase also lists the Kattegat and North Sea in the east. On the bottom at 100 to 1,000 m, mostly down to 500 m, at 3 to 7 °C; juveniles live inshore in fjords and bays.

In summer mainly krill and other luminous shrimp, in autumn and winter mainly herring, in spring capelin, herring, luminous shrimp and comb jellies (Wikipedia, FishBase).

Size and age

Up to 1 m, usually 45 to 50 cm, up to 15 kg and 60 years; mature at 10 to 12 years and 30 to 40 cm (German Wikipedia). FishBase: max. 100 cm, common 45 cm, heaviest published weight 15.0 kg, maximum age 60 years.

Fishing tips and destinations

Protection and rules

Conservation status: IUCN: Least Concern (2024, according to FishBase). German Wikipedia describes recent stocks as heavily overfished. Norway: seasonally protected species (Directorate of Fisheries, checked 20.10.2026).

We found no minimum size or closed season for this species in any state fisheries regulation. Local water rules may still apply.

Check the rules

In Germany, closed seasons and minimum sizes are set by each state and can be stricter for single waters. All German rules by state, with the legal source. Outside Germany, the local rules apply: licence and agency by country.

In the kitchen

Firm, tasty flesh, medium-fat according to the German Federal Centre for Nutrition; good for frying, steaming and smoking, mostly sold as fillets, often frozen (German Wikipedia).

Sources (4)

Last checked 2026-10-20. Found a mistake? Write to [email protected].

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