Population substructure is apparent with North Sea Atlantic cod (González-Irusta and Wright 2016)(ICES 2019)(Jorde et al. 2018). Numerous sub-populations both inshore and offshore mix throughout the range of this meta-stock. Until 2010, ICES provided advice on these sub-populations. In recent years, however, ICES has only provided advice for the overall meta-population given the uncertainty in mixing among the components by area and season. While the current iCES approach is reasonable given the uncertainty, different sub-populations are experiencing declines in biomass at different rates (ICES 2019)(ICES 2019).

This profile is for cod in North Sea, eastern English Channel, and Skagerrak (Subarea 4 Division 7.d and subdivision 20).