Found year-round in German coastal waters, with separate stocks in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, respectively. By the end of the 1930s, cod comprised up to 50% (>7000 tonnes) of the catches or over 30% in economic importance in German fisheries (Ref. 80767).

With heavy fishing pressure already on juveniles, most cod in German waters do not survive to maturity at 3-4 years and hardly reach sizes above 115 cm in the Baltic and 126 cm in the North Sea respectively (Ref. 88171).

Threats for cod in the North and Baltic Seas due to human activities: fisheries (Refs. 89388, 89389), resource exploration, offshore installations, technical installations, construction of cables and pipelines, eutrophication (Refs. 89390, 89391).