Northeast Arctic stock size reduced from 6 million tonnes just after World War II to 1 million tonnes beginning of 1980s due mainly to overfishing; collapse of main prey species resulted in increased cannibalism on young cod, one important reason why the 1984 and 1985 year classes did not recruit to the fishery; shifting to other prey also negatively affected individual growth (especially among medium-sized cod preying mainly upon the collapsed capelin stock); with reduced growth, more individuals per ton of quota were being caught than expected (Ref. 80755).