The Pudgy Cuskeel (Spectrunculus grandis) is a deep-sea fish species belonging to the family Ophidiidae, typically found at depths ranging from 1,000 to over 4,000 meters in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. Characterized by its elongated, soft-bodied appearance and pale coloration, the Pudgy Cuskeel is not a major target of commercial fisheries due to its deep habitat and relatively low abundance. However, countries with advanced deep-sea fishing industries, such as Norway, Spain, New Zealand, and Japan, occasionally harvest this species as bycatch in deep-sea trawling operations targeting other valuable species like grenadiers and orange roughy. The fishing industry for the Pudgy Cuskeel is relatively small and mostly incidental, with limited direct economic importance, but these countries are the primary contributors to the global catch due to their technological capabilities and access to deep-sea fisheries.
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Data from FAO. 2025. Global Capture Production. In: Fisheries and Aquaculture.