5. Gains from improvements in the exploitation patterns
Below, Northeast Arctic cod is used to illustrate the potential gains from improvements in exploitation patterns. Fig. 3 shows the yield of NEA cod as a function of age-at-catch. With an initial stock of 1000 three-year-old cod where all are caught immediately, the total yield amounts to 724 kg live weight. If the catch is postponed until the fish are nine years old, many of the initial 1000 fishes have died from natural mortality, but due to the individual growth of the remaining fish, the total yield has nearly doubled to 1337 kg. The figure illustrates a central and general point with regard to potential gains from improvements in exploitation patterns.