This we have been following with interest the mystery of the North Sea cod population week

It began aided by the Sunday days sounding the death knell for the cod, as well as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) together with Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) straight away “setting the record directly” on just how many cod are kept within the North Sea.

As a cautionary tale on the press’s sometimes iffy relationship with numbers before you write this off as a story of minor importance, think of it.

In the middle for the matter may be the newsprint’s declaration that “fewer than 100 mature cod are kept within the North Sea.” Defra responded saying this is not proper, and you will find around 21 million cod when you look at the North Sea.

The writer of this article, Jonathan Leake, took to Twitter to answer Defra’s necessitate a rectification:

So who’s right? We chose to dissect this article to observe how the confusion might play down to a audience.

Why don’t we begin with the headline.

Tally cod that is:Adult 100Non-adult cod: unknown

The paragraph which follows adds some context:

“FEWER than 100 cod that is mature kept within the North Sea after decades of overfishing, federal federal federal government professionals are finding.”

Tally cod that is:Adult less than 100Other cod: unknown (and it is perhaps perhaps not looking great)

At this point, you may have a relevant concern drifting in your thoughts: at just just what age do cod achieve maturity? Callum Roberts, Professor of aquatic Biology at York University, can answer that concern for all of us. Continue reading “An abundance of cod within the ocean? This week we’ve been following with interest the secret associated with North Sea cod populace”