Management of Cod Stocks

Last updated: 13 May 2004

Norway exports cod ( Gadus morhua) to a number of countries. The cod lives in the North Atlantic Ocean, and separate stocks are found in the waters of North America, Greenland, Iceland, the Faeroe Islands, in the Irish Sea, to the west of Scotland, in the North Sea, the Barents Sea, the Skagerrak and the Baltic Sea. Atlantic cod are thus distributed in a number of separate stocks with little or no interbreeding. Together with its neighbouring countries, Norway manages fisheries on cod stocks in the waters of the North Sea, Skagerrak and the Barents Sea. In addition, Norway is responsible for a number of smaller local stock s living in the fjords along the Norwegian coast.

While certain media and organizations have claimed that the cod is threatened with extinction, this is a misunderstanding of the facts. First of all, cod as a species is in no way endangered. When researchers utilize the phrase “outside safe biological limits,” they mean that a stock is insufficient to support a high sustainable fisheries yield. Second, it is important that consumers are able to differentiate between the various cod stocks and their individual situation. Some of the stocks, for example those in the Irish Sea, west of Scotland, in the North Sea, the Baltic or in the waters by Canada, have declined to very low levels. In order to bring these stocks back up to a level that will safeguard fisheries in the future, they have been subject either to closure or to significant reduction of fishing operations. However, the over-fishing of a stock as a result of the pressure of sustained high fisheries implies reduction in catches to a level that does not provide an optimal yield for those dependent on fisheries for a living.

Cod in the Barents Sea

Economically speaking, the cod in the Barents Sea – North-east Arctic cod – is one of Norway’s key fish stocks. Norwegian cod -exports to the international market are primarily harvested from this stock, which is shared in equal parts with Russia. In November 2002, Norway and Russia agreed on a long-term harvesting strategy for cod that entered into effect from 2004. Based on the precautionary approach, the two countries have agreed on a framework that ensures a long-term, maximized yield, a high degree of stability in the total allowable catch from year to year, and full utilization of the most up-to-date information available regarding stock development.

As regards the 2004 quota for North-east Arctic cod, Norway and Russia have agreed upon a total allowable catch of 486 000 tons, and there is an additional quota of 20.000 tons of coastal cod from the Norwegian coast and fjords. This is a prolongation of the quotas from 2001 and 2002, and is in keeping with the agreement signed in the autumn of 2000, in which Norway and Russia agreed to employ stable quotas during the subsequent three years unless there was a significant change in the assessment of the status of the stock. As a result of this agreement, the spawning stock is expected to show an increase in 2005.

If the harvesting level of the North-east Arctic cod stock continues with the same level of fishing mortality as recent years, then this stock, too, may decline. This would cause the volume of future catches to sink, generating a deficit of fish on the consumer market and greatly diminishing the yield for those who make their living within the fisheries sector. However, if the catch strategy initiated by Norway and Russia is successful, the stock will be enhanced and the yield from these fisheries will rise in years to come.

Cod in the North Sea and the Skagerrak

Norway shares the cod stocks in the North Sea and the Skagerrak with the EU. The management of this stock poses far greater administrative challenges than, for example, cod fisheries in the Barents Sea.

Since 1978, Norway and the EU have entered into annual quota agreements, agreeing last year to cooperate on guidelines for calculating quotas that ensure the rebuilding of the fish stocks.

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) has recommended that all cod fisheries in the North Sea be closed in 2004 both as regards direct fisheries and fisheries in which cod is a by-catch. Although this will lead to short-term losses for many North Sea fisheries, the ICES believes that measures must be introduced to enable the cod stock to recover to its former level of productivity. Such measures must necessarily lead to large reductions in the harvest of other stocks in which cod is a by-catch, particularly haddock, whiting, plaice and Norway lobster. Marine researchers strongly encourage the establishment of programmes to encourage enhanced observer participation or the introduction of other methods designed to ensure that catches of cod are correctly reported.

The TAC for cod in the North Sea is reduced from 49 300 tonnes in 2002, to 27 000 in 2003 and 20.120 tonnes in 2004,

Knowledge on Marine Resources and the Environment

Norway recognises the great importance of research to enhance our knowledge regarding living marine resources and the environment, as well as species interactions. Cod fisheries have played a key role in settlement patterns throughout Norway’s history. The recommendations of marine researchers provide the most important basis for decisions on fishing quotas. The concern expressed by the ICES as regards the cod stocks is related to the future prospect for economically viable cod -fisheries, not the endangerment of the cod as such. As for other species of wild fish, Norway’s objective for responsible management of the cod stocks is to achieve maximum harvest over an unlimited period of time. The long-term harvesting strategy on which Norwegian cod fisheries management policy is currently based has been devised to meet the needs of today without destroying the foundation for the generations of tomorrow.