This project is funded by the EU Commission, within the 5th framework program,
Quality of Life and Management of Living Resources (Key Action 5.4.3 Common Fisheries Policy)
Cod is one of the EU's most economically important fish species, yet as cod cannot be traced to their origin, problems arise with stock management and consumer safety. This project will develop the methodolgy to establish the location of spawning and of harvest of individual cod. Objectives will be achieved through the use of multiple tracing techniques followed by multivariate statistics. These techniques include body morphometery, otolith morphometery, otolith core chemistry, otolith surface chemistry, genetic analysis of fish tissue (allozyme, mtDNA, Syp I and microsatellite), fish parasite and bacterial assemblages, and molecular markers for specific fish bacteria. Research findings will be placed in a context of EU Common Fisheries Policy and law, a cost-benefit analysis will be conducted, and results will be presented at a dedicated forum.