Modelling the effects of fishing on the North Sea fish community size composition

- A size-structured model is used to explore the dynamics of a marine fish community.
- The large fish indicator (LFI) is the proportion of fish over 40 cm in length.
- The model reproduces large changes in the observed LFI in the North Sea.
- The results show that the North Sea LFI is driven mainly by cod fishing mortality.
- Sustainable fishing on cod will allow the recovery LFI in under a decade.