Marine Protected Area - Does it help the Atlantic cod

Aim:

The objective of this study is to examine the presence of Atlantic cod in a newly established Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Tybrind Vig in the Little Belt in Denmark. It is hypothesized that cod will be present within the MPA up to 90% of the time. 

 

Background:

The abundance of Atlantic cod has decreased dramatically during the past 30 years. In line with this, the marine environment and the population of Atlantic cod in Little Belt are currently under high pressure. Therefore, an MPA will be established during 2022 in Tybrind Vig in Little Belt. A stone reef will likewise be established within the area. Tybrind Vig is approximately 8.3 km2 and the MPA will be based on local fishers voluntarily protecting the area where fishing will be prohibited. This provides a protected reserve (or area) where feeding grounds can evolve and produce a suitable habitat where the cod can remain undisturbed. It is hypothesized that this MPA will increase the presence of cod in Tybrind Vig and in other parts of the Little Belt. It is a fundamental assumption, however, that the cod remain inside the MPA for the majority of time to be protected from fishing. If the fish leave the MPA, they will likely be targeted by various fisheries. The present investigation will therefore map cod movements to examine the assumption that the fish remain inside the MPA for the majority of time.  

 

Content:

The MPA will be established in 2022 and hydrophones will be placed inside the reserve (inside the MPA). Cod will be captured and tagged with signal emitting transmitters. The hydrophones will act as listening post as they register transmitted signals when tagged fish swim by. Data collected by the listening posts will be used to track movements and estimate the proportion of time spent by cod within the MPA. Data will help document the positive effect of the MPA.

Duration:

Review of literature is expected to take about one month. Data collection is expected to take 1-3 months; followed by 1-3 months for data analyses. This will be followed by 1-2 months for statistical analyses, and 1-3 months for write-up, depending on the scope of the specific student project. Students will receive support by a statistician for the statistical analyses (if needed). The project is flexible and project scope and duration may be adjusted to match different study programs and student needs. Students may choose to have their work location based either at DTU Aqua in Kongens Lyngby (north of Copenhagen) or in Silkeborg (on Jutland). For more information, please contact senior researcher Jon C. Svendsen (details below). 

Contact:

Supervisor:

Jon C. Svendsen

Email: jos@aqua.dtu.dk

Phone: 00 45 93 51 16 63

Twitter: @JonCSvendsen

 

Co-supervisor:

Marie Hartlev Frausing

Email: mhafr@dtu.dk

Phone: 00 45 28 44 58 30

Forudsætninger

Interest in marine biology, field work and analyses of data

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