An 8.5 million dollar Fishery Improvement Project is starting to show migratory patterns of northern cod.
Stakeholders met in Barcelona on Monday to discuss the on-going project. Tags have been placed on 8 hundred cod that migrate annually, while their movement is being tracked by acoustic receivers in waters up to 200 miles off our coasts. Preliminary data results are based on the 50% of tagged cod that have to date been detected over 300,000 times by receivers. Indications are cod in this area are driven by 2 supergenes that affect migration and spawning. The information collected over the life of the project will help in effective stock assessment and management measures to control fishing mortality.