Atlantic cod

The Faroe Plateau cod stock overfished and subject to overfishing.Two cod stocks can be found around the Faroe Islands: Faroe Plateau, and Faroe Bank. This rating covers the Faroe Plateau stock.Stock assessments are carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The most recent assessment was published in 2025 using data up to that year. The next assessment is expected in 2026.The stock assessment defines reference points for fishing pressure (F) and biomass (B). For fishing pressure, there is a target to keep F at or below Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY). For biomass, there is no target. However, there is a trigger point (MSY BTrigger). Below this level, F should be reduced to allow the stock to increase. Because BMSY is not defined, the Good Fish Guide (GFG) applies its own definition of 1.4 x MSY BTrigger.The spawning stock biomass (SSB) of Faroe Plateau cod was high during the 1960s–1980s, fluctuating between 50,000 and 100,000 tonnes. By 2006, it had dropped below the point of reproductive impairment (Blim: 17,803 tonnes). Although SSB briefly rose above the target level (MSY BTrigger: 24,739 tonnes) in 2018-2019, it declined again, reaching a record low of 10,190 tonnes in 2022, well below Blim. In 2025, SSB increased to 20,958 tonnes, surpassing Blim but remaining below the precautionary proxy, the halfway point between MSY Btrigger and Blim (Bpa proxy: 21,271 tonnes). The stock is therefore considered overfished.Fishing pressure (F) has been above levels associated with Maximum Sustainable Yield (FMSY, 0.37) since records began in 1960. For most of that time, it has been fluctuating between FMSY and the precautionary level (Fpa, 0.69). In 2025, F was 0.57 - above FMSY but below Fpa. Therefore, this stock is subject to overfishing.ICES advises that when the MSY approach is applied, catches in 2026 should be no more than 6,075 tonnes, this is a 113% increase from the previous years advice. This rise reflects improved recruitment over the past five years, which has boosted stock levels above Blim.According to ICES reports, the low biomass of Faroe Plateau cod since 2004 has been unprecedented over the last 300 years. Since 2002, the temperature has been around 1°C higher than in the 1990s, which may have had a negative effect on cod recruitment.

Recent catches have significantly exceeded recommended limits and management has historically been inadequate for controlling the fishery. A recovery plan was implemented in 2024.Faroe Plateau cod is primarily caught by Faroese fleets, accounting for around 95% of total catches in recent years. The UK and Norway also catch a small amount, accounting for around 4% and 1%, respectively. The Faroe Islands have a number of agreements to cover international fisheries arrangements. In 2025, it was agreed that the UK could catch up to 880t of Faroe cod and haddock (combined). Of which no more than 264 tonnes may consist of cod, and as bycatch only. No directed fisheries for cod are permitted under this quota.A management plan for Faroe Plateau cod, haddock, and saithe was implemented in 2021. Like previous measures, it uses a days-at-sea system rather than catch limits and aims to keep stocks above the point of reproductive impairment (Blim) with 95% probability. The number of allocated days at sea varies by gear type and vessel size, and the plan accounts for predicted cod and haddock bycatch in the saithe fishery. Longliners and small trawlers are regulated according to cod and haddock stock status, while large single trawlers and pair trawlers are regulated by saithe stock status. The harvest strategy allows annual adjustments of fishing days by ±5%, depending on whether biomass or fishing pressure exceed target reference points. A conversion factor is used to translate fishing days into predicted fishing mortality and catches. However, ICES notes that allocated fishing days do not necessarily correspond to actual catches due to fluctuations in species catchability.In November 2023, Faroese authorities began reviewing this plan, resulting in the inclusion of a recovery plan for the 2024 fishing year to address the critical status of Faroe Plateau cod. The recovery plan imposed stricter measures than usual, including a 20% reduction in fishing days for all longliners and small trawlers (compared to the standard 5% decrease). Larger trawlers, initially set for a 5% increase, were instead given a 10% reduction due to cod bycatch concerns. Additionally, spawning closures were extended by 14 days on both ends of the traditional period. The revised plan will be evaluated again in 2024 and has not yet been submitted to ICES for review, leaving its effectiveness uncertain.If the cod stock falls below Blim, as it was from 2020 to 2024, the plan includes a target for rebuilding within 1 generation (5 years). It is unclear if there are any additional measures to achieve this beyond reducing fishing days by 5% each year.In 2021, ICES catch advice was a 65% reduction for cod, 24% reduction for haddock, and a 37% increase for saithe compared to the previous year. The management plan was implemented accordingly: the 2022 allocation of fishing days for fleets 3-5 was 5% lower than in 2021, and the allocation for fleet 2 was increased by 5%. Cod catch in 2021 was 5,417 tonnes, 87% of the advice (6,247 t). Despite the zero-catch recommendation in 2023 and 2024, total catches were 3,732 tonnes in 2023 and 4,682 tonnes in 2024. This demonstrates that management has not followed scientific advice. It is notable that the management approach introduced in 2021 led to a continued stock decline, suggesting the plan may not be capable of achieving its own recovery targets.The previous management approach, which was also based on days-at-sea, failed to adequately control the fishery. Faroe Plateau cod catches were higher than the advice from 2014-2019, and were sometimes more than double the advice. From 2017-2020, catches exceeded recommended limits by 92%, on average. Therefore recent management was not appropriately managing the fishery.Conversely, the nearby cod population on the Faroe Bank was at historically low levels from the early 2000s until 2020. The Bank was almost completely closed to fishing, with the exception of a small artisanal jig fishery. Recent surveys indicate that the cod population is now beginning to increase. This suggests that the appropriate management approaches have been employed in other fisheries in the past - with success.Other management measures include:A minimum permitted size of 40 cm for cod, 37 cm for haddock, and 45 cm for saithe.Consideration of real-time closures of an area if the proportion of juvenile fish in catches exceeds 30% of a haul (cod less than 50cm, saithe less than 55cm and haddock less than 45cm).Restrictions on where vessels can fish. In general, large vessels cannot access the 0-12nm zone. Around 60% of the Faroe Plateau shallower than 200m is closed to trawling for most of the year. Most of the Faroe Bank is permanently closed to trawling.There is a discard ban, and compliance with this appears to be high.The Faroe Islands are also a member of the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC). Vessels listed on the NEAFC Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated list (blacklist) are not permitted to call at ports, receive services and supplies or change crew members in any port of the member countries of NEAFC.The cod and haddock fisheries achieved MSC-certification in 2021 following the introduction of the management plan. The cod certification has since been suspended owing to the poor stock status.

Some Faroe Plateau cod is caught by otter trawls, which are likely to cause some damage to the seabed. Bycatch is moderate and may include vulnerable species.In 2024, longlining accounted for the majority of Faroe Plateau cod catches (approximately 53%), followed by trawling at 32%, jigging or handlining at 13%, and gillnets at around 2%.Demersal trawls have contact with the seabed, resulting in penetration and abrasion of habitat features. The impact of trawling on the seabed depends on the where trawling happens, and on what scale. For example, habitats that are used to natural disturbance through tides and waves, are less sensitive to impacts. Areas not used to mobile towed gears are typically more sensitive. Trawl gears are known to have some of the greatest impacts on Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs), such as deep sea corals and sponges.Most of the habitats around the Faroe Islands are either sand, muddy gravel, or sandy mud. About 60% of the Faroe Plateau, which is shallower than 200m, is closed to trawling - which equates to 4% of the total Faroese EEZ. This includes a trawling ban in the inshore area (0-12 nautical miles), with the exception of 10-15 small trawlers targeting flatfish. Three additional areas are closed to protect corals. The Faroe Bank is closed to protect the Faroe Bank cod stock, and various other areas are closed during spawning seasons. If vessels do encounter species such as coral in their catch, they should move away from the area, but this appears to be an informal measure.Part of the Faroese cod trawl fishery was Marine Stewardship Council-certified in 2021, but subsequently suspended owing to the state of the cod stock. According to certification reports, most trawling takes place in the north east of the Faroes EEZ. Most of the identified vulnerable habitats are found in the south and west. However, Faroese seabed habitats have not been fully mapped and there remains a risk that highly vulnerable deep sea habitats could be exposed to trawling or sedimentation from trawling. Work is underway to further map the seabed.Demersal otter trawls have the potential to take relatively high quantities of bycatch. In the Northeast Atlantic there are reported catches of demersal elasmobranchs and endangered, protected and threatened (ETP) species (e.g. sharks, rays and marine mammals). In the Faroe Islands, monitoring of bycatch is poor and better data is needed. Independent observer coverage is low and most data is self-reported by the fishing industry.According to the North Atlantic Marine Mammal Commission, whale and seal bycatch in Faroese trawl and longline fisheries is thought to be low. Reported incidents of marine mammal bycatch have mainly been in the pelagic fisheries for blue whiting, herring and mackerel. However, data is not shared with ICES for international analysis and reporting. Therefore, marine mammal bycatch in this fishery is not thought to be of concern, but better data is needed.Certification reports indicate that trawling in this fishery also catches haddock, saithe, golden redfish, ling, Greenland halibut, monkfish, lemon sole and plaice. Small quantities of tusk, blue ling, wolffish, and whiting are also taken. Where data is available, it indicates that these species are at or above sustainable or target levels.

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