Jellynose fishes, belonging to the family Ateleopodidae, are deep-sea species characterized by their soft, gelatinous bodies and elongated tails, typically inhabiting continental slopes at depths of 200 to 2,000 meters. These unusual fish are not widely targeted by commercial fisheries due to their fragile bodies and low market demand, but they are occasionally caught as bycatch in deep-sea trawl fisheries. The primary countries known to harvest jellynose fishes, albeit in small quantities, include Japan, New Zealand, and some European nations such as Spain and Portugal, where deep-sea trawling is more common. The jellynose fishery is not a major industry, and catches are generally incidental rather than targeted, with most of the harvest used for fishmeal or discarded. Due to their deep-water habitat and limited exploitation, jellynose fishes remain relatively understudied, and their populations are not currently considered at significant risk from fishing activities.
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Data from FAO. 2025. Global Capture Production. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture.