Results on the extensive production of North Sea cod, Gadus morhua L, and their growth and distribution subsequent to release in the Limfjord, Denmark

During October 1991, 6917 cod, measuring 12-21cm were tagged with numbered, external Floy tags and released in Harre Inlet in the Limfjord. A total of c9000 7-month-old cold of the North Sea stock were produced and those >11cm were tagged. Tagging and handling mortality was relatively low: 97 cod (1.4%). Of the remaining 6820 fish, 3.18% were recaptured by 1 December 1992. Most of the released fish remained in the western part of the Limfjord during their first winter. This may have been due to a relatively mild winter (1991-1992). A few fish migrated to the North Sea or Kattegat. Growth conditions in the Limfjord were ideal for juvenile cod in that the growth rate of released artifically reared cod was of the same magnitude as that in cod populations occurring naturally in the area and in Kattegat, Skagerrak and the North Sea.