​​​​​The main activity contributing to the selective extraction of species in the Greenland Sea ecoregion is commercial fisheries. Total annual catch in the ecoregion varied between 26 000 and 152 000 tonnes during the last 10 years (Figure 3). The main exploited species are mackerel, herring, cod, Greenland halibut, redfish (Sebastes spp.), and northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis); these are listed in Annex 1. While the number of fishing vessels has declined over the past decades, the size of those vessels has increased.

Demersal fishing mainly takes place in the southern subregion at depths between 400 m and 1000 m, mostly as bottom trawling. Pelagic fisheries targeting mackerel and herring, using mid-water trawl or purse seining, are mostly concentrated in waters close to the Icelandic EEZ (Figure 4). The landings of commercial species and their locations can be assumed to represent to some degree the magnitude of the pressure on the ecosystem. 

Some hunting of seabirds and mammals for local consumption also occurs near the few settlements off East Greenland, in the southern subregion.

Effects on commercial stocks

Out of the nine stocks with fishing pressure (F) reference points, seven were fished above or close to sustainable targets (FMSY) in 2021. Fishing pressure has fluctuated around FMSY for all pelagic stocks (Figure 5), with the exception of beaked redfish, for which fishing pressure has gradually increased since 1990. Among demersal fish, fishing pressure has generally been around or above FMSY since 1990 for all stocks other than cod. Fishing pressure on cod has only markedly increased in the recent decade (Figure 6).

Sorting grids have been mandatory in the shrimp fishery since the 1990s; this is to avoid bycatch of juvenile fish in particular. Areas closed to trawling have been put in place to protect spawning concentrations of cod, aimed at rebuilding the stock. Detailed information on fisheries is provided in the Greenland Sea ecoregion fisheries overview.

​Effects on non-target species

The fisheries in the ecoregion are mainly targeting single stocks. Bycatch for most fisheries in the ecoregion, both in numbers of species and weight, is low (usually below 2% by weight).

A number of elasmobranchs species have been registered as bycatch in the ecoregion, including the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus), Portuguese dogfish (Centroscymnus coelolepis), sailray (Rajella lintea), common skate (Dipturus batis), leafscale gulper shark (Centrophorus squamosus), and thornback ray (Raja clavata). In addition, Atlantic bluefin tuna are occasionally caught as bycatch in the mackerel fishery. The cephalopod Gonatus fabricii occurs as a bycatch in the shrimp fisheries.

Discarding by commercial fisheries

According to regulations, discarding is prohibited in the ecoregion and is assumed to be negligible.

​Recreational fishing

​Some subsistence fishing takes place in the southern subregion. Atlantic cod, arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus), and capelin are among the species caught in this fishery. The impact of recreational fishing on the Greenland Sea ecosystem components is considered to be negligible.