Ireland whiting - trawl and seine

Whiting (Merlangius merlangus) is an important species for Irish demersal fisheries. On average approximately 2,800 tonnes of whiting were landed in mixed demersal fisheries by Irish vessels between 2020 and 2022, 79% of these were caught in 7g. In 2022 landings were worth approximately €3.5 million for Irish vessels.

Whiting are widely distributed throughout Irish and European waters from the shallows down to depths of around 200m. Adults are found over sandy/muddy ground. Juveniles are most abundant in coastal waters.

Whiting are voracious feeders appearing in large shoals and feeding largely on crustaceans and small fish. Their fine sharp teeth reflect their predatory diet; hunting mobile prey in the water column. They are fast growing and can grow up to 20cm in their first year at which stage about 60% are sexually mature. At age 2 almost 100% of females and ~ 85% of males are fully mature.

The distribution of whiting landings by Irish vessels between 2017 and 2021 shows that most whiting were caught around the “Smalls” area in the Celtic Sea. The majority of Irish landings are from trips where whiting was the dominant species. The remainder are taken in a more mixed fishery and are landed with haddock, hake, megrim, anglerfish and Nephrops.

The vast majority of Irish whiting catches are made with trawls (otter trawls and seines). 

Gear types bottom trawls/ seines with codend mesh size 80-100mm are responsible for the majority of the whiting catch by Irish vessels in the Celtic Sea. The fishery in the Celtic Sea is characterized as a mixed fishery, mainly targeting gadoid species, such as haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), cod (Gadus morhua), and whiting (Merlangius merlangus) as well as anglerfish and megrim.