Spare the Young Fish: Optimal Harvesting Policies for North-East Arctic Cod

The North-East Arctic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery, as most other commercial fisheries, is wasting the larger part of its potential. Examining a detailed multi-cohort, multigear bioeconomicmodel, we show that the cause is rather a too smallmesh size than excessive effort. Although internationally and nationallymanaged by quota allocations and regulations, the current exploitation pattern implies that essentially the wrong fish are targeted. Catching older and heavier fish could double the fishery’s Net-Present-Value. This increases harvested biomass while it reduces the number of fish removed from the ocean, highlighting the importance of ageand gear-specific modeling. Moreover, optimal harvesting policies would also lead to a much more robust and abundant cod stock.