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HomeTagging study to determine mortality sources on cod in the Irish Sea
Final report
Tagging study to determine mortality sources on cod in the Irish Sea
Final report
Publication metadata
Recently there has been progress toward improving exploitation rates on fish stocks through EU regulations and fishery management policy. However, some stocks have not responded as expected to management action and their conservation status remains a concern. For such stocks a better understanding of the interaction between fisheries, the ecosystem and the environment is needed. Cod (Gadus morhua) in the Irish Sea (ICES Division 7a) is an example of such a stock with a fundamental need to better understand the factors that have an influence on the population dynamics. The EASME project “Report of a tagging study to determine mortality sources on cod in the Irish Sea (EASME/EMFF/2015/010)” provided this opportunity. In an effort to recover the Irish Sea cod stock, management measures have been implemented since 2000 through a series of EU regulations. These recovery measures initially focused on protecting the spawning aggregations of cod implementing a closed area for cod from mid-February to end of April in the Western Irish Sea (Commission Regulation (EC) No 304/2000). This was followed by a series of EU regulated management plans, which introduced numerous technical conservation measures, effort limitations and a 25% year on year reduction in Total Allow Catch (TAC). Between 2003 and 2018 ICES advised a zero catch for cod in the Irish Sea. Despite the implementation of conservation and various cod avoidance measures the stock showed little or no response, raising questions about unaccounted causes of mortality to cod in the study region. Three forms of mortality have been assumed to impact this stock: natural mortality, fishing mortality and unaccounted mortality. While natural mortality was assumed to be constant and fishing mortality had been reduced, the remaining unaccounted (or unexplained) mortality resulted in high uncertainty associated with estimated total mortality values from the stock assessment and scientific advice. Unexplained mortality increased to more than 10 times that of the observed mortality (i.e., commercial catch and constant natural mortality), which severely hampered the ability to forecast stock development as well as the evidence-based management of the stock. During 2003 – 2016 a divergence in the perception of the state of the stock between the scientific assessment and fishing industry developed (ICES 2016). This was exacerbated by the assessment showing continued high total mortality and assumed fishing pressure, despite reduced effort targeting cod and technical measures to reduce bycatch (ICES 2016). These measures on cod resulted in the significantly reduced fishing effort targeting gadoid species in the Irish Sea (STECF 2018).
- Published:
- Corporate author(s): AFBI , Beggs Steven , CEFAS , European Climate, Infrastructure and Environment Executive Agency (European Commission) , Griffiths Chris , Marine Institute , Righton David , Schuchert Pia , Schön Pieter-Jan , White Emma
- Personal author(s): Lundy, Mathieu ; Poppleton, Victoria ; White, Jonathan
- Themes: Fisheries policy
- Subject: aquatic ecosystem , conservation of fish stocks , European Maritime and Fisheries Fund , fishery management , fishing vessel , Irish Sea , report , sea fish
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| ISSN | ISBN 978-92-95225-48-0 | DOI 10.2926/869813 | Catalogue number HZ-05-22-115-EN-N |
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