The paper discusses the need to reduce the minimum commercial size of cod (Gadus morhua callarias) caught in the exclusive economic zone and territorial sea of Russia in the ICES Subdivision 26 of the Baltic Sea in connection with the structural changes in the population of the Eastern Baltic cod in the recent years. The analysis of the size-by-age composition of the stock and the physiological condition of cod for the period 1992-2016 was conducted. Based on the values of the parameters of life expectancy and body size, as well as the parameters of the growth model of Bertalanffy, the natural mortality of cod by periods is estimated by different methods. The dominance in the stock of mature small-sized individuals is determined. It is recommended to reduce the minimum commercial size of cod from 38 cm to 35 cm.
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