Sebastes viviparus is a small redfish species with a maximum recorded size of 35 cm. As the name suggests, this fish has a characterstic light red colouring, and three well defined brown-black markings in the dorsal area. It has large eyes and a moderate to large mouth which is terminal, oblique and protractible. Several spines are evident on the head and body. The single dorsal fin has 14-16 spines and 12-17 rays. The anal fin has 3 spines and 7 or less rays. The pectoral fin is broad based, large and fan-like. The caudal fin is rounded.The Norway haddock is closely related to commercially important redfish species but exploitation is not widespread due to its small size. It is of minor commercial importance in Iceland. Despite this, due to the similar appearance of redfish species, catches are often grouped together as redfish (Barro, 2005). The Norway haddock is vulnerable as it displays low resilience, with a minimum population doubling time of 4.5 to 14 years (FishBase, 2000).