Pescafria-Pesquera Rodriguez Barents sea cod
MSC status
Certified as sustainable in February 2012.
Summary
Species: Atlantic cod (gadus morhua)
Location: ICES subareas I and II
Fishing methods: Bottom trawl
Vessels: 2 (using only 1 vessel at a time)
Number of fisheries: 1
More about Cod
Cod is a benthopelagic species (0 – 600m, but typically 150 – 200m), which is widely distributed in a variety of habitats in Northern temperate waters, from the shoreline down to the continental shelf and from the arctic polar front to a lattitude of around 35°N (up to 20°C). The North East Arctic stock in the Barents Sea is one of the most important cod stocks, along with the Icelandic stock.Cod are gregarious during the day, forming compact schools that swim between 30 and 80 metres above the bottom, and scatter at night. The Barents Sea is the main nursery and feeding area for northeast Arctic cod, in sea temperatures above 0°C (south of the polar front). The main spawning areas are along the Norwegian coast. The main spawning period is March-April. Eggs and larvae are pelagic and drift from the spawning grounds to the Barents Sea, before adopting a demersal behaviour in late autumn.
More about the fishing methods
The vessels were both adapted to single vessel trawling operations using trawl doors to spread and open the fishing net. Presently the fishery uses a single vessel demersal trawl (or bottom otter trawl) – a gear designed and rigged to have bottom contact during fishing for all of its operations in the Barents Sea. A demersal trawl is a cone-shaped net consisting of a body, closed by a cod end and with lateral wings extending forward from the opening. The two towing warps lead from the vessel to the trawl doors (otter boards) which act as paravanes to maintain the horizontal net opening. Trawl doors may weigh between 2 and 4 tonnes and are pulled across the seabed by the momentum of the vessel. Trawl doors are joined to the wing-end by the bridles which provide further assistance in herding fish into the path of the oncoming net. The net opening is framed by a floating headline and ground gear designed according to the bottom condition to maximise the capture of demersal target species, whilst protecting the gear from damage. On very rough substrates, such as may be encountered reasonably frequently in the Barents Sea, special rock hopper ground contact gear is used to ensure passage of the gear over seabed obstacles with minimal resulting damage to the net.
Fishery tonnage
3,760 tonnes in 2010
Commercial market
The main market is the UK and the main product is frozen cod fillets. A small proportion is sold to the Spanish market where salted cod and cod roe are marketed.
Actual eligibility date
1 June 2011
