With North Sea Warming By 1.3C In Past 30 Years, Cod Moving North, Replaced By Dover Sole

[hatrack]

Changes in the water temperature have put an end to hopes that the North Sea cod population can return to the levels it enjoyed in the 1970s.

Warmer conditions have altered the availability of prey species and driven the cold-loving cod northwards so even if the fishery is managed perfectly the species will only make a limited recovery, a senior scientist at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) has warned.

But as species such as cod are moving northwards their place is being taken by fish including Dover sole which, having previously tended to prefer the Bay of Biscay and Mediterranean, are finding the warmer conditions – the North Sea has warmed by 1.3C in 30 years - to their liking.

Dr Stuart Rogers, divisional director for environment and ecosystems at Cefas, will outline the changes in a keynote speech at the ‘Appetite for Change’ conference on September 23 that launches the Aldeburgh Food and Drink festival. Speaking before the conference he said: "The cod stock is still under a great deal of pressure. There are signs of recovery but there have been environmental changes over the last five decades which suggest we won’t be getting back to stock sizes that we had in the 1970s.

EDIT

http://www.fish2fork.com/news-index/Cod-has-had-its-chips-as-sole-invades-North-Sea.aspx