Kunskapsunderlag om möjliga icke-torskfiskerelaterade åtgärder för att torskbestånd ska bevaras och återhämta sig i svenska vatten

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is an important species for marine ecosystems in Sweden, where it has a regulating function in relation to other species. During Swedish history, cod has also played an important role for society, as a target species for fisheries. Several cod stocks, which are found in Swedish marine waters, now have poor status and the International Council for Exploration of the Seas (ICES) recommends a limited or no catch, depending on the stock. Apart from targeted fishing, cod is also affected by a number of other factors such as bycatch in other fisheries, hypoxia, climate change, predators, parasites, seafloor effects from trawling, loss of growth habitat, lack of food, thiamine deficiency and toxic substances. This report discusses possibilities to protect and preserve the cod in ways that may complement limitations in the targeted cod fisheries. The situation of the cod is complex and the report is therefore written in an ecosystem perspective to enable a broader approach in the management of cod stocks in Swedish waters, where all relevant pressures should be accounted for. It should be stressed that this report does not make any new investigations of the effects of different pressures, but instead reviews the literature and makes a qualitative analysis. We have nevertheless chosen to highlight some measures as particularly crucial – a comprehensive qualitative expert assessment, which ranks the effectiveness of reconstruction per stock, see section 6 in the report.