Studies of genetic structure of P. borealis in the North East Atlantic confirm that there is little genetic difference between populations over wide geographical areas. Martinez et al. 2006 analysed variation in the genomic DNA and concluded that the populations of the Barents Sea and Svalbard can be considered to bea single population. A recent study by Knutsen et al. 2015 using microsatellite DNA analyses showed that spatial genetic structure among oceanic samples from the Skagerrak and eastern North Sea was weak and non-significant.

This fishery entered full assessment by the Marine Stewardship Council system in February 2014. Click here to link to the MSC fishery page and to learn more about the MSC fishery certification unit.