| Summary: | An important commercial species in the European fisheries, the black anglerfish (Lophius budegassa), is infected by the microsporidian parasite Spraguea lophii, which is manifested as cysts located in the nerve ganglia. Fish length and presence or absence of the parasite was recorded. The prevalence by S. lophii was used to analyse infestation level. This is the first known study in which the prevalence of this parasite, in relation to the size and sex of the host, as well as its area and catch year, is analyzed in Atlantic waters. Specimens of black anglerfish were sampled from 9-year (2006-2014) from the Spanish bottom research surveys and commercial fleet operating in northern Iberian waters (ICES Div. VIIIc and IXa), Celtic Sea (Div. VIIh), south-western Ireland (Div. VIIj and VIIk), western Ireland and Porcupine Bank (Div. VIIb and VIIc). No significant differences were found between sexes or among years. Differences in the prevalence by fish length among areas were analysed. These results were compared with other studies.
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