Atlantic cod, once the most commercially important fish in the North Atlantic, suffer serious welfare impacts from bottom trawling including barotrauma, crushing, and high discard rates, as populations remain depleted after decades of overfishing.
Key Facts
Atlantic cod populations in the North Sea and Northwest Atlantic collapsed in the 1990s
Bottom trawling physically damages cod through pressure injuries and crushing in the net
EU landing obligation rules reduced discarding but compliance and enforcement are incomplete
Cod caught at depth suffer barotrauma as they are rapidly brought to the surface
Recovery of some North Sea cod stocks is occurring but Grand Banks stocks remain depleted
Welfare Considerations
Barotrauma causes severe internal damage as fish brought rapidly from depth experience pressure differential effects on the swim bladder and other organs. Crushing in the trawl net causes physical injury. Discarded fish returned to the sea often survive briefly but die from internal injuries or predation within hours. The welfare impacts occur at massive scale given the volume of trawling activity.
What You Can Do
Choose line-caught, pot-caught or hook-and-line Atlantic cod over trawl-caught
Look for MSC certification from well-managed, low-bycatch fisheries
Advocate for stronger enforcement of landing obligations and bycatch reduction
Support Fisheries Innovation Technology (FIT) research into more selective gear
Reduce fish consumption or shift toward lower-trophic-level sustainable alternatives