This is shown in a study by the Centre for Coastal Research at the University of Agder in collaboration with the University of Tromsø and the coastal research foundation Fundacion Chinquihue in Chile. The study has been published in the international journal Aquaculture.

"This is both surprising and unsurprising," says the lead researcher behind the study, Associate Professor Enrique Blanco Gonzalez at the Department of Natural Sciences.

"As many as 80 per cent of respondents support releasing young cod into the fjords. It's more than we anticipated. However, it's no surprise that fishermen of all kinds are worried about the current decline in the coastal cod population and want to back measures to remedy this," he says.

The main aim of the study was to gain deeper insight into how recreational and professional fishermen, along with the fishing tourism industry in Agder, view the idea of launching a dedicated release programme for coastal cod in Southern Norway.

Researchers also asked fishermen how they think this initiative could be funded and to what extent they would be willing to contribute to the costs, such as through a fishing permit scheme.

The findings reveal that fishermen believe the decline in the cod population has several causes. They especially highlight industrial overfishing, climate change, a lack of food for cod and declining water quality. The least mentioned cause in the responses was overfishing by recreational fishing.

When asked about the potential benefits of a release programme, they said it could primarily help rebuild the cod population. They also mentioned opportunities for education and research, strengthening the local ecosystem, preserving fishing traditions in the region and creating opportunities for fishing and the local economy.

However, the fishermen's main concerns about a targeted release programme are related to potential reductions in genetic diversity among local cod populations, competition for food and space with other fish and the risk of transmitting diseases to existing wild fish.

Over 75 per cent of respondents also believe that any new release programme should be led by national and local authorities, with support from researchers who can offer scientific expertise.

The same applies to the funding of such a programme. The fishermen expect that the costs should primarily be covered by the state and local authorities.

"Interestingly, one in four people said they’d consider directly contributing to such a programme, for example by buying fishing permits for NOK 175. This shows a willingness among the public to pay for the preservation of coastal cod - even though the majority in the study are clear that the main costs should be covered by the authorities," says Enrique Blanco Gonzalez.

This is not the first time an effort has been made to increase the cod population in Southern Norway through releases. The first time was in 1884 when Captain Gunder M. Dannevig established the Norwegian cod release programme in Flødevigen near Arendal. The programme continued until 1971 and involved releasing millions of small, newly hatched cod fry.

The challenge with the method, however, was that the initial fry stage is the most perilous in a fish's life, where the survival rate is lowest. Furthermore, it is not possible to mark newly hatched fry - so it is impossible to know how they actually fare.

Another initiative took place from 1990 to 1997 through the Programme for Developing and Enhancing Sea Ranching (PUSH). This laid the groundwork for a new release strategy based on releasing juvenile fish instead of larvae. Although these young cod are small, only six to seven months old and 10-12 cm long, they can be tagged and monitored by researchers.

"Much has happened since then. We now know a lot more about fry production, and we’re much better at keeping fry alive during the crucial early stages of life compared to 30 years ago," says Enrique Blanco Gonzalez.

Given the critical condition of the coastal cod stocks in Southern Norway, combined with the positive perceptions and attitudes towards aquaculture-based enhancement programmes we’ve seen in this study, the researcher believes it might be sensible to consider launching another comprehensive cod release programme in Southern Norway.

"Of course, it’s not up to me, but the conditions are likely more favourable now than they’ve ever been," he says.

QUICK OVERVIEW OF A POTENTIAL WILD COD RELEASE PROGRAMME IN SOUTHERN NORWAY:

• The main idea is to capture wild cod from the fjords in Agder, allow them to breed in land-based facilities where the survival rate is much higher than in the sea and then release the young cod back into the fjord of origin once they are large enough to have a chance of surviving on their own. This approach ensures they retain the same genetic material as if they were born in the fjord.
• Given the size of the fjords in Southern Norway and the decline in the cod populations, it is estimated that around 2 million juveniles would need to be released annually on average in each fjord included in the programme. To gather comprehensive data, the programme should span over three generations of mature fish, approximately 10 years.
• A central challenge is the survival rate of cod larvae and fry immediately after hatching. A mature female cod can spawn up to 5 million eggs per year, but in the wild, only two of these typically reach adulthood.
• Survival rates are higher on land. In the national cod breeding programme by the food research institute Nofima, which focuses on research and development for the aquaculture industry, the survival rate for farmed cod fry was 33 per cent last year, up from 1 per cent in 2003.
• Researchers believe achieving a similarly high survival rate for wild fish fry may not be feasible. However, they do see significant potential in applying best practices from fry and juvenile fish production in aquaculture to a dedicated release programme for wild fish.
• They also believe there is potential for learning from what is being done in other countries. Sweden also faces a decline in its cod populations. There, the Baltic Waters research foundation is currently engaged in land-based fry production for the release of wild fish. The project, called 'ReCod – release of small cod in the Baltic Sea' began in 2020 with a budget of SEK 50 million and is set to continue until 2025. It is funded through a collaboration between state, regional and private entities.
• Similar initiatives are ongoing in Australia and Japan, where they are also advanced in this area.