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Stock Status within the North Sea Cod
Key Findings
- Cod (Gadus morhua) is a predatory demersal species occurring in the central and northern North Sea. The diet of cod includes a variety of fish such as herring, capelin, haddock, codling, sandeel and other invertebrates.
- Spawning activity is mainly observed between January and April throughout the central and northern North Sea and off the Scottish east coast (fig. 1). Peak activity is in February and March in the central North Sea. After spawning, eggs are seen floating over large areas of the water surface. Adults aged 1-2 years are generally distributed across the North Sea, but can also found concentrated in the rocky coastal waters of the UK.
- Cod has been commercially exploited for several centuries as a target species and as bycatch, using different fishing gear in demersal and pelagic fisheries such as otter trawls, pair trawls, gill nets and longlines.
- Cod is also a Priority Marine Feature in both territorial and offshore Scottish waters.
- North Sea Cod are considered 'Avoid' by the Marine Conservation Society.
- Landings for local ports are not listed within Scottish Fisheries Statistics. Combined Scottish catches are shown in Figure 3 with a solid increases in volume between 2011 and 2019 when volumes fell significantly.
- Catches of have been reducing since the mid 1990s in response to reduced stock biomass (numbers of fish).
Figure 1: Cod spawning grounds - North Sea (Gonzalez-Irusta and Wright 2016)
Figure 2: ICES Stock assessment for Cod
Figure 3: Scottish Fisheries Statistics 2021 - Tonnage and value of Cod landings by Scottish vessels into Scotland
Notes
Linked Information Sheets
Seafood Landings by Value into the North East of Scotland - Employment in the fishing industry offshore- Employment in the fishing industry onshore- Markets for Seafood - Fraserburgh Harbour, Peterhead Harbour - Aberdeen Harbour - Small Harbours north of Aberdeen - Small Harbours South of Aberdeen – Status of key commercial species – Numbers of fishing vessels – Training - Employment - Mackerel line catch value
Key sources of Information
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Status
Live - Next update 09/01/2026
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