Norway Redfish

Photo: Jouni Marttila · © all rights reserved

Norway redfish are long-lived, slow-growing rockfish that gather along Svolvær Wall in groups of five to twenty individuals, hovering in mid-water beside the anemone-encrusted rock as though suspended. They are exceptionally slow to mature — females do not breed until they are around 12 years old — and can live for over 75 years in Norwegian waters, making even modestly sized individuals likely older than the divers observing them. Their vivid red-orange coloration fades to grey at depth where red wavelengths are absorbed, but in torch light they blaze with colour.