Note préliminaire sur la morue du sud de la mer du nord et de la région du Pas-De-Calais

The cod stock in the south of the North Sea and of the Pas-de-Calais consists mostly of young individuals (less than 4 years old) but growing fast, and thus showing a greater weight at the same age than the cods from more eastern parts of the Northern Atlantic Ocean. The fact that this population has grown greatly since 1963, presumably because of the harsh conditions of the winter 1962-1963, lead to a rapid development of the catches. Indeed, it has been observed that, despite a growth of the fishing effort, performances have slightly increased with the production now reaching about 10,000 tonnes per year and accounting for a large percentage of the cod unloaded in Boulogne. It is difficult to foresee the future of this stock, which can only remain stable through an important renewing of the young classes it is made up of. However, it was important to study this stock as it is an interesting example of the repopulation of a region by a species which used to play only a secondary role in past years.