An interesting post on Cod – ‘Are they still fishing this?’ by Edward Stern

Atlantic-Cod-Dieter-CraasmannAre they still fishing this?’ replied Dr. George Rose in an email earlier this year. I had written to Rose asking about cod length at first spawning, or the typical size of cod when they are sexually mature. Growth of this species, Gadus morhua, is regulated within a general range by where the fish lives. For a number or reasons, cod around Newfoundland are typically larger than cod in the Baltic. Rose is well aware of these differences. Despite the understood differences in cod growth, Rose balked at the most recent assessment data on eastern Baltic cod which indicates that 50% of the cod are sexually mature enough to spawn at 20-centimetres in length. ‘20 cm maturity is way less than anything ever observed over this way. Although I do not know all the details the [eastern Baltic] stock appears to be in hard shape. Are they still fishing this?’ Fast forward to just a few months ago when the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) released their formal advice for the Baltic cod stocks in 2017. Read the article here 07:33

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