Atlantic cod have been a primary target for marine stock enhancement since the 1880s. In the early part of this period, hatched larvae were released in Norway, the USA and Canada. The last larval releases were conducted in Norway in 1971, and a century of cod larvae releases were halted without any clear evidence of benefit. Since the early 1980s, the focus has been on production of larger, more viable juvenile cod. Emphasis has been given to the design of tag–release programmes involving large‐scale releases and ecosystem analysis in selected ecosystems. Most of this research has been carried out in Norway, where more than one million tagged juvenile cod have been released. Smaller stocking experiments have also been performed in Denmark, Sweden, the Faroe Islands and the USA. This paper reviews the major findings from these programmes. We include summaries and evaluations of rearing techniques for juvenile cod, methods of tagging and recapture, experimental fishing, migration, mortality and growth rates in the different habitats, genetic analysis, and ecosystem studies that have tried to describe the variation in the cod carrying capacity of selected release areas. Despite relatively large variation in environmental conditions, in cod production and in fishing mortality along the Norwegian coast, results indicate that, under the conditions experienced during the 1980s and 1990s, releases of juvenile cod did not significantly increase cod production and catches. The biological limitations and future prospects of Atlantic cod stock enhancement are addressed.

Offspring from seven family groups of Arcto-Norwegian cod (AN) and a genetically marked Norwegian coastal cod (NC) broodstock, were mixed at metamorphosis and raised in the same rearing unit. The fish were transferred subsequently to a net-pen and held under standard farming conditions. In December 1992, 466 cod juveniles were measured, weighed, and tagged individually. Length and weight changes were monitored until the fish matured (January 1994). Genotyping of each individual was performed using enzyme electrophoresis to identify the fish to strain. Prespawning females were examined for organ weights and stage of maturity. There were population specific differences in growth performance. NC displayed significantly higher specific growth rate (SGR) and daily length increment (DLI) during spring/summer season. The AN had significantly lower hepatosomatic and gonadosomatic indices, and were thinner than the NC, indicating differences in body form and energy allocation pattern between the two strains. All NC (both sexes) became sexually mature at the age of 2 years while 2% of fish in the AN group were still immature at the end of the experiment. 1996 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles

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