Development of cod farming in Norway: Past and current biological and market status and future prospects and directions

Abstract

Atlantic cod is a historically abundant species in the North Atlantic region and has contributed to the prosperity of many nations. But a decline in stocks in the last century has prompted to initiate commercial farming of cod in captive conditions. Several approaches have been employed ranging from stock enhancement, capture‐based aquaculture and intensive cod farming. However, except for the enhancement efforts which were carried out for almost a century, efforts on other methods were intermittent coinciding with lower quotas. Intensive farming was attempted in Norway, Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Iceland and Faroe Islands in the 2000s. But it was carried out hastily to cash in the demand for cod in the market even though there were many biological knowledge gaps that are required for a successful aquaculture venture. The reasons for the failure of commercial farming in Norway during the 2000s were not only because of limited knowledge of the biology of cod but also the economic meltdown in Europe in 2008. Cod farming came to a halt; however, the Norwegian National Cod Breeding Program (NCBP) initiated in 2003 continued to operate and produced a fifth generation of a domesticated cod in 2019. Efforts to fill the gaps and the selective breeding for better growth and disease resistance within NCBP have improved the quality of the juveniles produced. We will discuss the past efforts and reasons for failure in farming of cod, how the current situation looks and the future direction in terms of cod biology, political atmosphere and market.

Broodstock exposure to warming and elevated pCO2 impairs gamete quality and narrows the temperature window of fertilisation in Atlantic cod

“…Farmed broodstock were a F3‐generation produced under the Norwegian National Cod Breeding Program run by NOFIMA (Puvanendran et al ., 2022). The base population of the breeding programme was a mix of Norwegian coastal cod and Barents Sea cod (Puvanendran et al ., 2022). In January 2014, approximately 250 farmed cod ( c .…”

“…Nonetheless, acute effects of temperature on fertilisation success have rarely been studied, and it is unknown to which extent chronic effects of temperature and elevated p CO 2 (on gametogenesis and gamete quality) influence the acute tolerance window of fertilisation. In this study, chronic and acute effects of temperature and OA on fertilisation success were investigated in Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua , Linnaeus 1758), a species widely distributed in the North Atlantic and of great importance for fisheries and aquaculture (Puvanendran et al ., 2022; Rose, 2019). The reproductive biology of Atlantic cod has been extensively studied ( e.g ., Hansen & Puvanendran, 2010; Kjesbu, 1994; Kjørsvik, 1994; Van Der Meeren & Ivannikov, 2006), but the temperature window of fertilisation is still unknown.…”

Ocean Food Systems and Hybrid Seafood Production: Transdisciplinary Case Studies of Cod, Eels, Salmon, and Lobster

“…(3) Innovations in cod aquaculture made over the past decades in aquaculture engineering, containment systems, disease prevention, management and control, and designer feed formulations could enhance significantly cod CBA (Puvanendran et al, 2021). High mortalities occur during the first few days after capture but decline rapidly.…”

“…Weight losses are reported at about 1%/week (Hermansen, 2017). These could be turned into weight gains by refining feed qualities and quantities well known in aquaculture (Puvanendran et al, 2021). Aquaculture innovations would allow longer-term culture than 12 weeks and extend the market to take advantage of higher summer prices.…”

Susceptibility and Pathology in Juvenile Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua to a Marine Viral Haemorrhagic Septicaemia Virus Isolated from Diseased Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss

“…However, a governmentally funded national breeding program is still in place, and juveniles and adult fish are available from farmers. New initiatives are now taken to re-establish Atlantic cod as an aquaculture species [ 20 ]. In addition, capture-based cod aquaculture is a widespread practice, keeping the fish alive and feeding it after capture, making the fish available for slaughter and processing in a non-stressed state at the requested time.…”