After declining from 1950 to 1977, landings spiked then crashed with a consistent decline until the fishery was suspended in 2010. No landings have been recorded through 2016. During the decline in landings and total value, the price per pound continued to rise.
In the deep ocean waters off New England’s coast lives one of our region’s most unique fish species: the Atlantic wolffish. While these fish may look threatening, and indeed they use their canine-like teeth (hence the name “wolffish”) to crush whole clams, scallops, sea urchins and crabs, Atlantic wolffish are themselves under threat from commercial fishing practices and modern fishing gear, which have decimated wolffish populations and destroyed the underwater habitat they call home.
The New England Fishery Management Council has implemented a total ban on the possession of Atlantic wolffish, but the bycatch and habitat destruction described above still pose a threat to the survival of this unique species.*
Wolffish Landings 1950-2011
Wolffish Price per Pound 1950-2011
| YEAR | POUNDS | VALUE | PRICE/LB |
| 1950 | 256,400 | $6,265 | $0.02 |
| 1951 | 233,000 | $6,253 | $0.03 |
| 1952 | 193,900 | $5,598 | $0.03 |
| 1953 | 164,800 | $5,199 | $0.03 |
| 1954 | 154,400 | $5,722 | $0.04 |
| 1955 | 133,100 | $4,076 | $0.03 |
| 1956 | 116,800 | $3,566 | $0.03 |
| 1957 | 139,300 | $4,191 | $0.03 |
| 1958 | 100,700 | $3,034 | $0.03 |
| 1959 | 103,500 | $3,466 | $0.03 |
| 1960 | 85,200 | $2,581 | $0.03 |
| 1961 | 49,400 | $1,527 | $0.03 |
| 1962 | 44,300 | $1,321 | $0.03 |
| 1963 | 49,000 | $1,561 | $0.03 |
| 1964 | 25,793 | $875 | $0.03 |
| 1965 | 41,503 | $1,235 | $0.03 |
| 1966 | 11,731 | $382 | $0.03 |
| 1967 | 14,290 | $573 | $0.04 |
| 1968 | 14,247 | $451 | $0.03 |
| 1969 | 14,404 | $487 | $0.03 |
| 1970 | 18,815 | $777 | $0.04 |
| 1971 | 14,572 | $609 | $0.04 |
| 1972 | 17,831 | $956 | $0.05 |
| 1973 | 20,245 | $1,007 | $0.05 |
| 1974 | 23,305 | $1,429 | $0.06 |
| 1975 | 29,296 | $2,091 | $0.07 |
| 1976 | 47,883 | $4,238 | $0.09 |
| 1977 | 47,512 | $4,390 | $0.09 |
| 1978 | 128,771 | $12,481 | $0.10 |
| 1979 | 173,518 | $19,611 | $0.11 |
| 1980 | 358,116 | $37,444 | $0.10 |
| 1981 | 338,754 | $48,834 | $0.14 |
| 1982 | 628,627 | $85,887 | $0.14 |
| 1983 | 724,235 | $95,378 | $0.13 |
| 1984 | 668,389 | $93,377 | $0.14 |
| 1985 | 621,236 | $104,618 | $0.17 |
| 1986 | 915,751 | $227,648 | $0.25 |
| 1987 | 738,281 | $284,738 | $0.39 |
| 1988 | 712,346 | $190,255 | $0.27 |
| 1989 | 420,390 | $137,747 | $0.33 |
| 1990 | 246,231 | $85,306 | $0.35 |
| 1991 | 331,786 | $120,438 | $0.36 |
| 1992 | 318,923 | $107,721 | $0.34 |
| 1993 | 356,020 | $112,774 | $0.32 |
| 1994 | 302,234 | $131,040 | $0.43 |
| 1995 | 229,302 | $99,832 | $0.44 |
| 1996 | 168,147 | $87,285 | $0.52 |
| 1997 | 141,058 | $61,034 | $0.43 |
| 1998 | 125,835 | $73,391 | $0.58 |
| 1999 | 119,631 | $61,389 | $0.51 |
| 2000 | 103,217 | $70,187 | $0.68 |
| 2001 | 90,368 | $48,767 | $0.54 |
| 2002 | 66,264 | $43,105 | $0.65 |
| 2003 | 46,756 | $29,360 | $0.63 |
| 2004 | 59,463 | $32,725 | $0.55 |
| 2005 | 65,695 | $38,188 | $0.58 |
| 2006 | 32,743 | $27,517 | $0.84 |
| 2007 | 25,177 | $22,199 | $0.88 |
| 2008 | 12,318 | $11,570 | $0.94 |
| 2009 | 4,279 | $2,494 | $0.58 |
| 2010 | |||
| 2011 |
Source: http://www.maine.gov/dmr/commercial-fishing/landings/documents/wolffish.table.pdf (accessed February 6, 2018)
*http://www.talkingfish.org/science/new-research-on-the-atlantic-wolffish-a-depleted-species-that-needs-our-help (accessed 9/27/12)