Acoustic estimates of spawning cod off Lofoten and Møre in 1985

Abstract

The annual surveys on the spawning stock of North-east Arctic cod were carried out in the Lofoten and Møre areas in March- April 1985. These surveys were undertaken to estimate the size and age structure of the spawning cod on the main spawning grounds. The area used in the estimation this year is somewhat larger than previous years, including a larger part of the area north of Lofoten. The estimated number of spawning cod in the same area as previous years was found to be about 32 million specimens with the addition of about 5 million in the area north of Lofoten. This is a reduction of 15 - 20 percent compared to the result in 1984. No estimate is given for the Møre area because of bad weather conditions during survey. However it is clear that the abundance of cod at Møre is far less than in 1984.