If recent reports are to be believed, the North Sea cod’s days are numbered. But should we believe these reports? What do the experts say about the numbers of fish that are left?

If this is true, this is no trivial issue. Over-exploitation and conflicts over fisheries cause major problems worldwide.

The Sunday Times reported that there were only 100 cod left in the sea. The newspaper got the figure from the data supplied by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. The newspaper decided to class an adult cod as one of an age over 13. However that is not only an adult cod, but also an ancient cod. According to the chief fisheries science adviser for the UK, cod starts to mature at age 1 and 2, and by 6 they are fully matured.

This all raises a question however, given the time when cod mature, how many adult cod really are there in the North Sea? The right answer actually appears to be rather more than 100, to be precise 21 million. The article was actually referring to cod over the age of 13 really, according to a spokesperson.

In fact, although there has been problems with cod stocks in the North Sea in the past, the situation is actually rapidly improving. There are actually many good indications that the stock is ready to recover.

Do you feel that the Sunday Times is just manipulating the data to spread a message that is basically not true? Share your views by clicking “Read More & Comment”.

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