Species Distribution - Spawning grounds of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the North Sea (Gonzalez-Irusta and Wright 2016)

The spawning grounds of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) layer has been generated to identify the likely distribution of Atlantic cod spawning in the North Sea, taking account of certain environmental influences. The map key classifies Atlantic cod spawning areas as ‘recurrent’, ‘occasional’, ‘rare’ and ‘unfavourable’. This layer updates the existing (Coull et al., 1998) spawning map for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) also available on NMPi, by providing finer granularity to the likely Atlantic cod spawning areas. The Coull et al., (1998) maps have been used for more than a decade to ensure that appropriate protection is afforded to sensitive areas from disturbance.