Northeast arctic cod
Cod is a predatory fish and mainly a demersal fish, but in the Barents Sea it is also to a large extent distributed in the pelagic water masses during some parts of the year. Young cod (age 0-2) feed mainly on zooplankton, while fish and benthic organisms are the main food items for the older cod.
Vesterålen/Lofoten are the main spawning areas for cod. The eggs are spawned pelagically in February-April. Egg and larvae are carried with the current into the Barents Sea, and the 0-group fish settles to the bottom there in late autumn. Most of the stock is found in the Barents Sea, on the warm side of the Polar Front, reaching to 76°N and 50°E. In warm years the cod distribution extends farther to the north and east. In autumn 2007, cod was found as far north as 81°N (north of Spitsbergen) and 56°E (southern tip of Novaya Zemlya).
