Cod ( Gadus morhua), by weight, is the third most important demersal species landed from the North Sea by Scottish fishermen. Like many North Sea stocks, cod are overfished with a high percentage of removals from the stock unaccounted for.
| 2011 position: | UK share 10,445 tonnes |
| Last year: | 13,067 tonnes |
| Landed into Scotland in 2009: | 8,065 tonnes |
| Value for 2009: | £14.4 million |
MSY and Precautionary Approach Reference Points
| Type | Value |
MSY Approach | MSY Btrigger | 150,000 t |
FMSY | 0.19 |
Precautionary Approach | Blim | 70,000 t |
Bpa | 150,000 t |
Flim | 0.86 |
Fpa | 0.65 |
State of Stock and Advice
- Fishing mortality in 2009 was estimated to be 0.85: this means that approximately 57%, by number, of all fish between 2 and 4 years of age were caught.
- Spawning stock biomass has increased since its historical low in 2006, but is estimated still to be below Blim in 2010 at 55,700 tonnes.
- Fishing mortality and biomass are between and below, respectively, the precautionary approach limits. However fishing mortality is well above the level which is consistent with achieving maximum sustainable yield ( F2009> FMSY).
- The advice is in accordance with the long-term management plan which recommends a TAC in 2011 of 32,240 tonnes for areas IIa, IIIa Skagerrak, IV and VIId combined.
Management Outcomes for 2011
At the December 2010 meeting in Brussels, the Council of Ministers decided that the EU Total Allowable Catch for cod in Subarea IV and Division IIa should be 22,279 tonnes. The UK quota for 2011 was set at 10,455 tonnes.
Information Source: ICES advice 2010 ( http://www.ices.dk/committe/acom/comwork/report/2010/2010/cod-347.pdf).