Will you believe in cod?

This is the view when approaching Tromsø airport. The Norwegian cod breeding centre is located close by on Kvaløya. Here we found the perfect facilities and help to conduct an experiment on the direct effect of ocean acidification on larval cod, Gadus morhua. The early life stages of cod, and fish in general, are thought to be most susceptible to ocean acidification. This is linked to the gills, the main organ for pH-regualtion, which are not fully functional at the larval stage. Indeed cod larvae show increased mortalities under ocean acidification scenarios projected for the end of the century. As the early life stages of fish are a critical bottleneck for recruitment, the impact of ocean acidification could have dramatic effects on fished populations and therefor needs to be considered in fisheries management plans in the future.