Reproduction of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua (Actinopterygii: Gadiformes: Gadidae), in the Gotland Basin: Causes of annual variability

Background. The Gotland Basin spawning ground is one of three main spawning areas of Baltic cod, Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758. The threshold water parameters for cod development are the salinity exceeding 11‰ and the oxygen level above 2 mL· L–1. Such conditions are only present when the 11‰ isohaline is above the 2 mL· L–1 isooxygen. In such situation the water volume between the isolines is called the “suitable reproduction volume”. When the position of the isolines is reversed, the salinity and the oxygen level of the water layer demarcated by them are below the required thresholds and as such the water is unsuitable for the cod development. We refer to it as the “unsuitable reproduction volume”. The main aim of the presently reported study was to examine whether variations in suitable and unsuitable reproduction habitat estimates could explain the fluctuations in cod recruitment. Materials and Methods. The suitable and unsuitable reproduction volumes in the Gotland Basin were estimated based on single point observations at three oceanographic monitoring stations using the contouring software Balthypsograph. To test the spatial hydrological heterogeneity in the Gotland Basin we used 15 observations during 1969–1995 on four stations in each of two transects. The oceanographic monitoring and demersal trawl research survey data from 1974–2012 have been used in analyses. Results. The sufficient reproduction conditions in the southern Gotland Basin persisted only until 1981. In later decades the reproduction potential of the Gotland Basin has decreased. The latest major North Sea water inflows in 1993 and 2003 in the Central Gotland Basin formed the suitable reproduction volume below the layers where cod eggs are floating. A significant relation between the recruit abundance and suitable and the unsuitable reproduction volumes was found only for the Southern Gotland Basin (P < 0.03). Conclusion. We demonstrated that single-point estimates sufficiently quantify the reproduction conditions in the Gotland Basin and thus can be used for estimation of the reproduction volumes. The unsuitable reproduction volume concept can be used as an ecological indicator for egg survival probability in the Gotland Basin. However, it is too premature to re-define the concept of the suitable reproduction volume because it is applicable only to the Gotland spawning ground

Food for Thought : Eastern Baltic cod in distress: biological changes and challenges for stock assessment

The eastern Baltic (EB) cod (Gadus morhua) stock was depleted and overexploited for decades until the mid-2000s, when fishing mortality rapidly declined and biomass started to increase, as shown by stock assessments. These positive developments were partly assigned to effective management measures, and the EB cod was considered one of the most successful stock recoveries in recent times. In contrast to this optimistic view, the analytical stock assessment failed in 2014, leaving the present stock status unclear. Deteriorated quality of some basic input data for stock assessment in combination with changes in environmental and ecological conditions has led to an unusual situation for cod in the Baltic Sea, which poses new challenges for stock assessment and management advice. A number of adverse developments such as low nutritional condition and disappearance of larger individuals indicate that the stock is in distress. In this study, we (i) summarize the knowledge of recent changes in cod biology and ecosystem conditions, (ii) describe the subsequent challenges for stock assessment, and (iii) highlight the key questions where answers are urgently needed to understand the present stock status and provide scientifically solid support for cod management in the Baltic Sea

Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME)

162 pages.-- This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence (CC BY 4.0)The Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology met in 2021 to address new information on marine mammal ecology relevant to management. Two terms of references were standing ToRs; under the first of these, ToR A, new and updated information on seal and cetacean population abundance, population/stock structure, manage-ment frameworks as well as anthropogenic threats to individual health and population status were reviewed along with findings on threats to marine mammals such as bycatch, pollution, marine debris and noise. ToR B is a cooperation with WGBIODIV to review species-specific for-aging distributions (considering horizontal and vertical dimensions depending on data availa-bility) and to estimate consumption by marine mammal species representative in case study ar-eas. ToR C was implemented to review aspects of marine mammal fishery interactions not cov-ered by ICES WGBYC. ToR D is the second standing ToR and concerns updating the WGMME seal database, which was updated with the latest dataN

Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology (WGMME)

159 pages.-- This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)The Working Group on Marine Mammal Ecology met in 2022 to address five terms of reference. Under the first of these, ToR A, new information on cetacean and seal population abundance, distribution, population/stock structure, was reviewed, including information on vagrant ma-rine mammal species. This was done to ensure the recording of possible range changes in marine mammal species in the future. For cetaceans, an update is given for the different species, providing for a latest estimate for all species studies. In this report, particular attention is given to the updating of information from Canadian and US waters, and together with those countries, latest estimates for cetacean species are provided. For seals, latest monitoring results are given for harbour, grey and Baltic ringed seals. In addition, where possible, local long-term trends are illustrated for those species, based on earlier WGMME efforts to assemble these data into the WGMME seal database. For both spe-cies’ groups, a first account of vagrant species is providedN