Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment

Margit Eero; Joakim Hjelm; Jane Behrens; Kurt Buchmann; Massimiliano Cardinale; Michele Casini; Pavel Gasyukov; Noél Holmgren; Jan Horbowy; Karin Hüssy; Eskild Kirkegaard; Georgs Kornilovs; Uwe Krumme; Friedrich W. Köster; Rainer Oeberst; Maris Plikshs; Krzysztof Radtke; Tiit Raid; Jörn Schmidt; Maciej T. Tomczak; Morten Vinther; Christopher Zimmermann; Marie Storr-Paulsen

doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsv109

Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment

Margit Eero, Joakim Hjelm, Jane Behrens, Kurt Buchmann, Massimiliano Cardinale, Michele Casini, Pavel Gasyukov, Noél Holmgren, Jan Horbowy, Karin Hüssy, Eskild Kirkegaard, Georgs Kornilovs, Uwe Krumme, Friedrich W. Köster, Rainer Oeberst, Maris Plikshs, Krzysztof Radtke, Tiit Raid, Jörn Schmidt, Maciej T. TomczakMorten Vinther, Christopher Zimmermann, Marie Storr-Paulsen

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Abstract

The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures, and the EB cod was considered one of the most successful stock recoveries in recent times. In contrast to this optimistic view, the analytical stock assessment failed in 2014, leaving the present stock status unclear. Deteriorated quality of some basic input data for stock assessment in combination with changes in environmental and ecological conditions has led to an unusual situation for cod in the Baltic Sea, which poses new challenges for stock assessment and management advice.Anumber of adverse developments such as low nutritional condition and disappearance of larger individuals indicate that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status and provide scientifically solid support for cod management in the Baltic Sea.

Original language	English
Journal	I C E S Journal of Marine Science
Volume	72
Issue number	8
Pages (from-to)	2180-2186
Number of pages	7
ISSN	1054-3139
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv109
Publication status	Published - 1 Oct 2015

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Eero, M., Hjelm, J., Behrens, J., Buchmann, K., Cardinale, M., Casini, M., Gasyukov, P., Holmgren, N., Horbowy, J., Hüssy, K., Kirkegaard, E., Kornilovs, G., Krumme, U., Köster, F. W., Oeberst, R., Plikshs, M., Radtke, K., Raid, T., Schmidt, J., ... Storr-Paulsen, M. (2015). Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment. I C E S Journal of Marine Science, 72(8), 2180-2186. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv109

Eero, M, Hjelm, J, Behrens, J, Buchmann, K, Cardinale, M, Casini, M, Gasyukov, P, Holmgren, N, Horbowy, J, Hüssy, K, Kirkegaard, E, Kornilovs, G, Krumme, U, Köster, FW, Oeberst, R, Plikshs, M, Radtke, K, Raid, T, Schmidt, J, Tomczak, MT, Vinther, M, Zimmermann, C & Storr-Paulsen, M 2015, 'Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment', I C E S Journal of Marine Science, vol. 72, no. 8, pp. 2180-2186. https://doi.org/10.1093/icesjms/fsv109

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title = "Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment",

abstract = "The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures, and the EB cod was considered one of the most successful stock recoveries in recent times. In contrast to this optimistic view, the analytical stock assessment failed in 2014, leaving the present stock status unclear. Deteriorated quality of some basic input data for stock assessment in combination with changes in environmental and ecological conditions has led to an unusual situation for cod in the Baltic Sea, which poses new challenges for stock assessment and management advice.Anumber of adverse developments such as low nutritional condition and disappearance of larger individuals indicate that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status and provide scientifically solid support for cod management in the Baltic Sea.",

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AU - Eero, Margit

AU - Hjelm, Joakim

AU - Behrens, Jane

AU - Buchmann, Kurt

AU - Cardinale, Massimiliano

AU - Casini, Michele

AU - Gasyukov, Pavel

AU - Holmgren, Noél

AU - Horbowy, Jan

AU - Hüssy, Karin

AU - Kirkegaard, Eskild

AU - Kornilovs, Georgs

AU - Krumme, Uwe

AU - Köster, Friedrich W.

AU - Oeberst, Rainer

AU - Plikshs, Maris

AU - Radtke, Krzysztof

AU - Raid, Tiit

AU - Schmidt, Jörn

AU - Tomczak, Maciej T.

AU - Vinther, Morten

AU - Zimmermann, Christopher

AU - Storr-Paulsen, Marie

PY - 2015/10/1

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N2 - The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures, and the EB cod was considered one of the most successful stock recoveries in recent times. In contrast to this optimistic view, the analytical stock assessment failed in 2014, leaving the present stock status unclear. Deteriorated quality of some basic input data for stock assessment in combination with changes in environmental and ecological conditions has led to an unusual situation for cod in the Baltic Sea, which poses new challenges for stock assessment and management advice.Anumber of adverse developments such as low nutritional condition and disappearance of larger individuals indicate that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status and provide scientifically solid support for cod management in the Baltic Sea.

AB - The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures, and the EB cod was considered one of the most successful stock recoveries in recent times. In contrast to this optimistic view, the analytical stock assessment failed in 2014, leaving the present stock status unclear. Deteriorated quality of some basic input data for stock assessment in combination with changes in environmental and ecological conditions has led to an unusual situation for cod in the Baltic Sea, which poses new challenges for stock assessment and management advice.Anumber of adverse developments such as low nutritional condition and disappearance of larger individuals indicate that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status and provide scientifically solid support for cod management in the Baltic Sea.

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DO - 10.1093/icesjms/fsv109

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JO - ICES Journal of Marine Science

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Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment

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