Atlantic cod

Common Name: Cod

Scientific Name: *Gadus morhua⁵

⁵populations in the OSPAR regions II and III

Description: Gadus morhua has a distribution in the OSPAR Maritime

**OSPAR Regions where it occurs:** I, II, III, IV, V

Area that extends through the Barents Sea, to the North Sea, the Irish Sea, the waters around Iceland and the North East Atlantic (Wheeler, 1978). It is found close to shore and well down the continental shelf with adults making considerable migrations to reach spawning grounds. In the NE Atlantic, the Norwegian-Arctic stock in the Barents Sea, the Icelandic stock and the much smaller North Sea stock range widely. There are also local, stationary races which always remain close inshore.

OSPAR Regions where under threat and/or in decline: II, III

2016 Implementation highlights

What is the latest status of Atlantic cod?

The status assessment describes the latest changes in distribution, abundance and range of the feature, as well as any changes in the threats and pressures impacting the feature. The status assessments are updated regularly and inform OSPAR’s consideration of the effectiveness of the measures and actions that have been adopted and implemented by Contracting Parties.