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FISH GUIDE · Sea

Blue ling: identification, habitat and fishing guide

Molva dypterygia

Blue ling is a bottom-dwelling species distinct from common ling. Its deep habitat is a biological fact, not an invitation to transfer rigs or release instructions from another species.

Catalogue names : Blue ling. Forms and names may vary between habitats.

Editorial review : · This species guide is not permission to fish. Read the precautions below and check the current rules for your location before targeting a species. Some species or populations are protected.

Geographical distribution

Documented from the Barents Sea to Morocco, around Iceland and the British Isles, and in the western Mediterranean; FishBase also lists Newfoundland in the Northwest Atlantic.

  • Documented presence : Northeast Atlantic
  • Documented presence : Northwest Atlantic
  • Documented presence : Western Mediterranean
  • Documented presence : Barents Sea

Documented areas, not an exhaustive list. Presence in a region does not imply presence in every water body or permission to fish.

Distribution sources

Identification

Molva dypterygia has a very elongated body, a projecting lower jaw and a barbel shorter than the eye diameter. Compare these features with common ling rather than relying on colour alone.

Habitat

North Atlantic, on continental slopes, often muddy. MarLIN describes it usually at about 300–500 m; this habitat range is not a recommended fishing depth.

Diet

Crustaceans and fish, including flatfish and gobies.

Behaviour

A demersal species, it lives near the bottom. This description establishes neither an hourly hunting rhythm nor a validated fishing method. The 2024 MFRI report describes prolonged low recruitment around Iceland; this regional finding does not measure every population.

Indicative biological size

About 80 cm on average in the Icelandic autumn scientific survey described by MFRI in 2022. This regional, historical reference is neither a legal size limit nor a universal average.

Fishing context and precautions

The EFSA Måløy 2017 federation booklet names Molva dypterygia and describes catching it on a baited paternoster with a substantial sinker near deep muddy bottoms. It explicitly compares it with common ling: this comparison comes from the source, not merely their relatedness. It gives neither the bait species nor a release procedure specific to blue ling.

This description is informative: it does not prescribe targeting the booklet’s deep habitat range in France. Before any adaptation, have the person in charge establish local rules and management of fish that cannot be retained; little resistance during retrieval does not prove recovery. No foreign minimum sinker weight, puncture or improvised descent is recommended. IGFA also documents Alf Ronny Karbo’s Norwegian catch in July 2018 without describing his rig.

A distinctive feature

Its first dorsal fin is short, whereas the second dorsal and anal fins are very long.

Sources and review

Each reference includes its access date. Overall editorial review: . Local conditions and regulations may change.

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