Are the chips down for cod?
A new study reveals there are just 100 adult cod in the North Sea. These fish live for 25 years and grow to 6 feet long if they escape being caught. That’s almost two metres, if you think in those terms. And – this is the point – they don’t become sexually mature until they are four years old. Even then, the most successful breeding is among fish that are older than that.
An analysis carried out by Defra’s fisheries laboratory, the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) of around 500,000 fish in England and Wales makes alarming reading. The survey found 191 million one-year-old cod – baby fish, in other words – but hardly any of them survive into adulthood. Callum Roberts, professor of marine biology at York University, blamed industrial fishing for the fact that so few cod live to the breeding age of four years old.
Larger specimens are almost unknown. There are fewer than 100 adult cod in the North Sea now. Last year a study of sea ports across Europe revealed that fishermen did not catch a single cod over the age of 13. As Professor Roberts pointed out to the Sunday Times: ‘This means that there are fewer eggs and larvae to perpetuate future generations.’
Scientists want this year’s quota of 32,000 tons reduced in 2013 to 25,600 tons, in order to give cod a chance to grow to breeding age. Barrie Deas, chief executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations, admitted that: ‘The most effective measure in rebuilding fish stocks seems to be removing vessels from service.’ Owners would have to be paid to decommission them.
Here’s the link if you want to read more:
