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. Its diet includes a variety of fishes like herring, capelin, haddock, codling, sand eels and other invertebrates. Spawning activity is observed mainly between January and April throughout the central and northern North Sea and off the Scottish east coast, with peak activity in February and March in the central North Sea. After spawning, the eggs are seen floating over large areas of the water surface. Adults aging 1 to 2 years are generally distributed across the North Sea but are also found concentrated in the rocky coastal waters of the UK coast. Cod has been commercially exploited for several centuries as a target species and bycatch using different fishing gear in demersal and pelagic fisheries (especially 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 to be a 'Avoid' by the Marine Conservation Society.
- Landings for local ports are not listed within Scottish Fisheries Statistics. Combined Scottish catches are shown in Table 1 with a solid increases in volume and value.
- Catches of have been reducing since the mid 1990s in response to reduced stock biomass (numbers of fish).
Cod - spawning grounds - North Sea (Gonzalez-Irusta and Wright 2016)
ICES Stock assessment for Cod
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
Reviewed on/by
18/09/23 by ian.hay@egcp.org.uk
Status
First Draft (this is for demonstration only at this time and has not been reviewed)
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