Atlantic cod, Norwegian Coastal cod, Gillnet

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1 Atlantic cod, Norwegian Coastal cod, Gillnet Content last updated 1st Aug 2017 Stock: Norwegian Coastal cod Management: Norway Atlantic cod, Norwegian Coastal cod, Gillnet Overview Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua is a well-known commercial fish which is a traditional food in many European countries, particularly England from antiquity (Kurlansky, 1999). In the western Atlantic Ocean, cod has a distribution north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and around both coasts of Greenland and the Labrador Sea; in the eastern Atlantic, it is found from the Bay of Biscay north to the Arctic Ocean, including the Baltic Sea and areas around Iceland between shoreline and 600 m, mostly m. The species can grow up to 200 cm total length and 96 kg in weight, but lengths of up to 100cm are more typical. The cod can live up to 25 years. It is an omnivorous predator that feed primarily on invertebrates and fish, including young cod. The Norwegian coastal cod stock is distributed in the fjords and along the coast of Norway from the Kola peninsula in northeast and south to Møre at 62º N. Spawning areas are located in fjords as well as offshore along the coast. The spawning season extents from March to late June. Cod from this stock start to mature at age 4-6 and migrates towards spawning grounds in early winter. The majority of the biomass (about 75 %) is located in the northern part of the area (North of 67º N), (ICES, 2014). Coastal cod is mainly fished by small coastal vessels but some is also caught by trawlers and larger longliners fishing at the coastal banks. Estimated commercial landings during 2014 were 23,200t. Of this, 44% was taken by gillnets, 28% by Danish seine, 27% by longline and the remaining 1% by demersal trawl. In addition, a further 12,700t was attributed to recreational catches (ICES, 2015). ICES advice is based on a Norwegian rebuilding plan which uses an abundance index from an autumn survey. ICES Advice June Ecoregion: Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. Stock: Cod in Subareas I and II (Norwegian coastal waters cod). 8 pp. Kurlansky, M. (1999) Cod, a biography of a fish that changed the world. 304pp. ISBN-13: Stock Status less risk more risk Norwegian coastal cod has been scored a high risk. Although the spawning stock biomass appears stable, it is close to the lowest observed level. Recruitment has also been at a low level in recent years. Management less risk more risk The management of Norwegian Coastal cod has been scored a moderate risk. Monitoring is based on a trends based assessment surveillance is adequate, however catches are not constrained by TACs as the TAC is combined with that for the much larger Northeast Arctic cod stock with which the coastal cod stock mixes in Norwegian inshore waters. Bycatch less risk more risk The bycatch of this fishery has been scored a low risk. While gillnet fisheries can be prone to bycatch of non-target species, this does not seem to be the case in this fishery and there are mitigation measures in place with an active program of development of further measures as required. Habitat less risk more risk The habitat risk of this fishery has been scored a very low risk. This is because by its nature the gear has only limited potential to cause habitat damage, and spatial management measures are in place to minimise the risk of damage to vulnerable habitats. Outlook Type Current Risk Status Outlook Reason Stock High Stable Although a rebuilding plan has been in place since 2011, it does not appear to have had any effect on the state of the stock.

2 Management Moderate Stable An effective monitoring, and surveillance system is in place. However, catches are not constrained by TACs as the TAC is combined with that for the much larger Northeast Arctic cod stock with which the coastal cod stock mixes in Norwegian inshore waters. Bycatch Low Stable Mitigation measures are in place Habitat Very low Stable Vulnerable habitats are protected by spatial measures.

3 Stock Status Details less risk more risk Time-trends Catches and recruitment were relatively high in the mid-1980s when there was also a period of relatively high recruitment. A reduction in fishing mortality in the early 1990s led to an increase in SSB. Subsequently fishing mortality showed a slight increase, but has been relatively stable since about In combination with low but steady recruitment, this has led to SSB stabilising at a low level. Figure 1 Cod in subareas 1 and 2 (Norwegian coastal waters cod). Landings, the survey spawningstock biomass (SSB) index (including the rebuilding biomass of tonnes in the rebuilding plan), F estimate from the exploratory virtual population analysis (VPA) assessment (including the limit F = 0.1 in the rebuilding plan), and the relative recruitment index (long-term average = 1) from the exploratory VPA assessment. Stock structure and recruitment Cod in the coastal waters of ICES Subareas 1 and 2 are considered to be a different stock from the main Northeast Arctic cod stock which occurs in the offshore areas of these waters. While there is some degree of mixing of these populations, particularly on spawning grounds, the stock identification is based on differences in some biological characteristics (namely otolith characteristics) and also in the specific nature of the fishery (ICES, 2017). Data gaps and research priorities Estimated catches in the recreational fishery represented about 35% of the total catch in However, total catches from the recreational fisheries have not been monitored since The assumption of constant removals from the recreational fisheries does not influence the information on the state of the stock but may influence the effectiveness of management actions. The absence of information regarding recreational fishing, in particular in connection with local stock components, is impairing the quality of the advice that can be provided. Estimates of commercial catches of coastal cod have been more uncertain in recent years because of the large spawning stock of Northeast Arctic cod mixing with coastal cod during the migration along the coast. There is a risk that in cases with a low percentage misclassification of otoliths of large catches of pure NEA cod, the catches of coastal cod could be severely overestimated. Obtaining a valid pattern of sampling and classification of otoliths is an important element of the assessment, and one ICES has been examining in recent years (ICES, 2016) ICES Advice June Ecoregion: Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea. Stock: Cod in Subareas 1 and 2 (Norwegian coastal waters cod). 8 pp. ICES Report of the Arctic Fisheries Working Group(AFWG) Dates April 2016 ICES HQ, Copenhagen, Denmark.

4 Management Details less risk more risk TAC Information Catch 2016 (t) Advised Catch 2017 (t) Agreed TAC 2017 (t) Advised Catch 2018 (t) Rebuilding plan, action dependent on autumn survey 21,000 t included in Northeast Arctic cod TAC Rebuilding plan, action dependent on autumn survey Stock Harvest strategy The stock is assessed annually by ICES. The assessment uses commercial catch at age data together with indices of abundance from a Norwegian trawl acoustic survey, in a trends based assessment. Annual TACs are set for this stock. However, the TAC is added to that for the much larger Northeast Arctic cod stock, reflecting the fact that the two stocks mix and are caught together in Norwegian inshore waters. As a result, the TACs do not constrain the catches of Norwegian coastal cod, and catches in recent years have been up to 50% higher than the agreed TAC. Possibly in recognition of this, the rebuilding plan that is in place for this stock includes a system of gear-specific closed areas & seasons which are intended to push vessels fishing for cod, particularly larger vessels, further offshore away from coastal waters (Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, 2011). A minimum landing size for cod of 44cm is in place for this fishery. Surveillance and enforcement The Marine Resources Act (Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, 2008) lays down full provision for adequate control of landings, include provision for inspection at sea and at ports. Across all Norwegian waters, the Coast Guard performs more than 1800 inspections of Norwegian and foreign vessels that fish in Norwegian waters annually. Vessels over 24 meters (15 meters for vessels from EU) are required to carry satellite transponders that makes it possible to track their activity 24 hours a day all around the year (Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, 2010) Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, [ [Accessed April 2015.] Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, 2010, [ April 2015]. Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries, 2011, [ [Accessed April 2015].

5 Bycatch Details less risk more risk Targeting and behaviour Gillnets and entangling nets are strings of single, double or triple netting walls, vertical, near by the surface, in midwater on the bottom, in which fish will gill, entangle or enmesh. Gillnets and entangling nets have floats on the upper line (headrope) and, in general, weights on the ground-line (footrope) (FAO 2014). Gill nets come in a variety of shapes and sizes, depending on the target species. Those used in the Norwegian cod fishery comprise plain panel netting with 180 mm stretched mesh (90 mm bar length) net panels. Each panel is 50 meshes high (footrope headline) and c. 30 m in length but panels (depending on vessel size and location) are joined to form one net or fleet. Whilst an anchor is used to hold the net at the initial shoot (upstream) end of the net, a simple 20 kg weight is often used at the other end (MSC 2010). Evidence of bycatch risk No information is available on bycatch in this specific fishery. However catches in the corresponding fishery for cod in offshore waters consist mainly of other commercial species, with only negligible catches of sharks and rays or marine mammals or seabirds (MSC, 2014). Norwegian legislation requires that all by-catches, including those of marine mammals and seabirds are recorded and reported electronically within 24 hours. In addition, observers embarked on reference-fleet vessels record any occurrence of marine mammal by-catch and more recently also bird by-catch. Vessels equipped with electronic logbooks are now also required to keep records (including zero observation) of interactions with marine mammals and seabirds Mitigation measures Norway has a very broad range of general and species-specific regulations in place to limit bycatch, e.g. of juvenile fish or those that are in a depleted state, but the work in this area is ongoing. The industry is collaborating with the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) to develop further improvements in gear selectivity or fishing methods through the multi-agency Centre for Research-based Innovation in Sustainable fish capture and Pre-processing technology program (CRISP) that was established as a specialist unit within IMR. FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture topics. Fisheries technology. Topics Fact Sheets. In: FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department [online]. Rome. Updated 31 October [ [Accessed 15-Jan-2016] MSC Final report for North East Arctic offshore haddock fishery. Client: Norwegian Sea Food Export Council. Final Report v pp. Moody Marine Ltd. Ref: OH v4. MSC Surveillance Visit Report for the Norway North East Arctic cod fishery. Norges Fiskarlag. 269 pp

6 Habitat Details less risk more risk Evidence of habitat risk The possible damage to habitat associated with the use of demersal gillnets is limited to the possibility of impact damage on fragile habitats caused by the gear s anchor. As such the gear has only limited potential for causing habitat damage. Mitigation measures There is a network of designated marine protected areas in Norwegian waters, within which all fishing is prohibited). In addition, it is also an offence for any fishing vessel to fish on or in close proximity to known areas of coral reef or coral garden. Current practice is for Norwegian-registered fishing vessels to report the presence of coldwater corals or sponges in the catch and move a minimum of 5 miles before shooting once more (MSC 2014). Compliance with these obligations is monitored in quasireal-time using the satelite-based Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries is satisfied that there is a very high degree of compliance with these requirements. MSC Surveillance Visit Report for the Norway North East Arctic cod fishery. Norges Fiskarlag. 269 pp All content 2018 Seafish. Origin Way, Europarc, Grimsby, DN37 9TZ. This page created on 2nd July 2018 at 06:41am.