The Codfather

Thank you for returning for the next edition of Marine Recovery Plan blogs! If you would like to read our previous blogs, you can visit the following links:

• Baby Beluga in the Deep Blue Sea
• Northern Wolffish
• Banded Killifish
• American Eel
• Marine Recovery Plans

Atlantic Cod (retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/Atlantic_cod.jpg)

The atlantic cod (gadus morhua) is a large marine fish residing in both sides of the North Atlantic waters. On the western side, cod ranges from North Carolina to Greenland along with the Flemish Cap. This species of cod is currently listed as "Special Concern" by SARA (Species at Risk Act) and is listed as "Endangered" by COSEWIC (Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada). It is also labelled Vulnerable on the IUCN Redlist (International Union for the Conservation of Nature). What is the reason behind these listings you ask? Probably the cod moratorium.

Cod Landing from 1850 to 2000 (retrieved from: http://upload.
wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/bc
/Atlantic-Cod-Stocks.jpg/773px-Atlantic-Cod-Stocks.jpg)

The most notable reason is the cod moratorium which was implemented in 1992 by the Canadian Government. The human population began overfishing the cod by large numbers, and the population could not handle it. The image to the right displays the landings of cod from 1850 to 2000 within the Atlantic waters. The landings began slightly increasing from the 1850s to the 1960s. After this, the quotas rose dramatically, changing from 300000 tons to 800000 tons. By 1992, the stock had basically become non-existent. It crashed to say the least.

NL Cod Abundance (retrieved from: http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca
/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr%5Fatlantic%5Fcod%5Fe%2Epdf)

The graph to the left displays the abundance of cod within NL waters from the 1960s to the 2000s. The drop in the graph corresponds with the increase in catch seen in the above graph. COSEWIC said the reason behind the designation of the Atlantic cod as endangered was:

"Cod in the inshore and offshore waters of Labrador and northeastern Newfoundland, including Grand Bank, having declined 97% since the early 1970s and more than 99% since the early 1960s, are now at historically low levels. There has been virtually no recovery of either the abundance or age structure of cod in offshore waters since the moratoria imposed in 1992 and 1993. Threats to persistence include fishing (now halted), predation by fish and seals, and natural and fishing-induced changes to the ecosystem."

Currently, the government have the cod moratorium still in effect to help with the recovery of the species. This moratorium makes it so it is illegal to fish cod commercially. This is the main recovery plan currently in place by the Canadian federal government (including NL provincial government).

Want to learn more? Visit these fine websites:

http://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/moratorium.html
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/species/speciesDetails_e.cfm?sid=549
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/as%5Fatlantic%5Fcod%5Fe%2Epdf
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/initiatives/cod-morue/strategie-qc-eng.htm
http://www.sararegistry.gc.ca/virtual_sara/files/cosewic/sr%5Fatlantic%5Fcod%5Fe%2Epdf