A Scottish Government minister has rejected claims that North Sea cod stocks are being hit by reduced life expectancy.
Fisheries Secretary Richard Lochhead highlighted scientific research which estimates there are about 21 million mature cod, equal to about 65,000 tonnes.
It follows reports that fewer older fish are being landed and claims there may only be 100 cod aged over 13. Officials said 60% of four-year-old cod are mature, rising to all cod by age six.
Mr Lochhead said: "The facts show that since 2006 the cod stock has been improving. Scotland has played a big part in this by achieving the EU's biggest reductions in the cod discards, while we have led the way with sustainable fishing initiatives."
Schemes such as the use of selective fishing gear to avoid catching undersized fish, help to conserve the species, he said.
"We are fully committed to ensuring a long-term future for Scottish fisheries," he said.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article