Fish & Water - Sounds Wild
Pacific Cod

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Pacific cod

A commercial fishing boat bobs on the green water of the Gulf of Alaska, miles from shore. These fishermen are after pacific cod, a bottom dwelling fish found in huge schools in the north pacific. However, in 2018, those schools aren't as huge as they used to be.

In 1979 fishermen in the gulf caught less than a thousand tons of cod, but fishing efforts ramped up, and in five years that grew to 90,000 tons. A decade later, in 1995, fishermen caught 430,000 tons of cod in the North Pacific. Catches have since declined. For 2018, fishery managers have set the catch limit for cod at 18,000 tons.

The stocks of cod have declined, but there is more going on under the waters of the north pacific than fishing. Biologists think cod were adversely affected by an unusually warm mass of water that persisted in the Gulf of Alaska from 2014 to 2016. This warm water increased the metabolism of cod while reducing available food, resulting in poor body condition and increased mortality. It also affected egg production and larval survival, greatly reducing recruitment during these years. Fishery managers are focused on maintaining the spawning stock and helping the fishery remain viable in years to come.