All men have need of the cods (sic) (Homer, the Odyssey) or An overview of the results of the EU-CODYSSEY project

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Cod stocks in European waters are in serious decline, prompting the adoption of Recovery Plans in some areas e.g. North Sea, and similarly serious management measures elsewhere e.g. Barents Sea, Baltic Sea. CODYSSEY (Cod spatial dynamics and vertical movements in European waters and implications for fishery management) is an EU-funded R&D project that involves nine European research institutions in eight different countries. The aim of the project is to improve understanding of the behaviour and distribution of cod in the NE Atlantic in support of stock assessments and Recovery Plans. Over the last four years, members of the CODYSSEY research team have tagged over 2500 cod with electronic tags in four different regions (North Sea, Barents Sea, Baltic Sea and Icelandic plateau). To date, over 450 tags have been returned, yielding tens of thousands of days of data. The results challenge previously held assumptions regarding migratory behaviour, feeding behaviour and the tolerance of cod for extreme environmental conditions. We have been able to derive rates of migration, stock mixing and availability to fisheries from the tag data. The results of the CODYSSEY project are of value to fish biologists and fisheries managers at national and international level.