The Deepwater redfish may reach a size of 55-70 cm, but is usually less than 45 cm. It lives in comparatively high concentrations in the North Atlantic, for example in the Irminger Sea

Irminger Sea

The Irminger Sea is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is 480 km long and 290 km wide at its narrowest. The northern limit is the Greeland-Iceland Rise on the bottom of Denmark Strait between Iceland and East Greenland, which connects to Greenland Sea. To the southwest, it reaches to...

 where considerable numbers are fished. It occupies depths between 300 and 1000 metres and is often pelagic, i.e. far off the bottom. The deep-sea redfish feeds on a variety of food organisms, for example small fishes. In contrast to most fishes that spawn unfertilised eggs, the deepwater redfish has internal fertilisation and spawns free-living larvae.

S. mentella is very similar in appearance to the Acadian redfish

Acadian redfish

The Acadian redfish is a marine deep-water fish belonging to the family Sebastidae.Found in the northern Atlantic Ocean, the Acadian redfish lives in depths of 70–592 meters. S. fasciatus is colored reddish-orange, can live up to 50 years or more and reacheslengths up to 20 inches...

(Sebastes fasciatus).

Sustainable consumption

In 2010, Greenpeace International has added the deepwater redfish to its seafood rainbow list. "The Greenpeace International seafood red list is a list of fish that are commonly sold in your house around the world, and which have a very high risk of being sourced from unsustainable fisheries."