Disappearing cod to be electronically tagged
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Your support makes all the difference.SCIENTISTS WILL today unveil a scheme to "electronically tag" cod heading for the North Sea so that they can track their movements and behaviour.
Cod experts believe greater knowledge about the fish could lead to more effective measures to halt the species' long-term decline. In spite of a minor resurgence in the last two years, North Sea cod stocks have been depleted by years of intensive fishing. Fishermen will be given pounds 25 for every tag returned to the scientists.
Dr Julian Metcalfe, the head of the pounds 55,000 research project at the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science in Lowestoft, Norfolk, said that 10 fish have already been tagged. He added: "It is amazing how little we know about their behaviour in the open sea. We need sophisticated technology to tell us what they are doing.
"By gaining an understanding of how they move around, we know how effective management measures might be."
The tags, which can store information for up to 25 years, will have temperature and light sensors which will allow scientists to establish a fish's location and depth. The scheme follows a similar project which proved successful in revealing the behaviour of North Sea plaice, said Dr Metcalfe.
Elliot Morley, the fisheries minister, said: "Cod stocks in the North Sea have been in long-term decline. The causes are complicated. We need to understand this better and this is why we are putting new scientific effort into understanding the fish's biology."
Scientists know cod migrate over long distances by using strong currents but little is understood about their feeding and spawning habits. In the last few years environmentalists and scientists have warned of the dangers of cod and other species being over-exploited.
The Atlantic cod can live for more than 20 years and reach the size of a tall man. Most cod that are now being found in the North Sea are far smaller than this, because intensive fishing has prevented them from reaching full maturity.
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