View source for Cod

{{About|the common name for fish}}
{{Short description|Common name for several fish, but mainly the demersal genus Gadus}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2014}}
{{Paraphyletic group
|auto=yes
|image=Gadus morhua Cod-2b-Atlanterhavsparken-Norway.JPG
|image_caption= [[Atlantic cod]]
|taxon=Acanthomorpha
|includes=see [[Cod#Species|text]]
}}
{{Common fish}}

'''Cod''' ({{plural form}}: cod) is the [[common name]] for the [[demersal fish]] [[genus]] ''[[Gadus]]'', belonging to the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Gadidae]].<ref>{{cite EB1911 |wstitle=Cod|volume=6|page=632}}</ref> Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gadus'' is not commonly called cod ([[Alaska pollock]], ''Gadus chalcogrammus'').

The two most common species of cod are the [[Atlantic cod]] (''Gadus morhua''), which lives in the colder waters and deeper sea regions throughout the [[North Atlantic]], and the [[Pacific cod]] (''Gadus macrocephalus''), which is found in both eastern and western regions of the northern [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]]. ''Gadus morhua'' was named by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] in [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]. (However, ''G. morhua callarias'', a low-salinity, nonmigratory [[Subspecies|race]] restricted to parts of the Baltic, was originally described as ''Gadus callarias'' by Linnaeus.)

[[Cod as food]] is popular in several parts of the world. It has a mild flavour and a dense, flaky, [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|white flesh]]. Cod livers are processed to make [[cod liver oil]], a common source of [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin D]], [[vitamin E]], and [[omega-3 fatty acid]]s ([[eicosapentaenoic acid|EPA]] and [[docosahexaenoic acid|DHA]]). [[Scrod]] is young Atlantic cod or [[haddock]]. In the United Kingdom, Atlantic cod is one of the most common ingredients in [[fish and chips]], along with [[haddock]] and [[plaice]].
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==Species==
At various times in the past, taxonomists included many species in  the genus ''[[Gadus]]''. Most of these are now either classified in other genera, or have been recognized as forms of one of three species. All these species have a number of [[common name]]s, most of them ending with the word "cod", whereas other species, as closely related, have other common names (such as [[pollock]] and [[haddock]]).  However, many other, unrelated species also have common names ending with cod. The usage often changes with different localities and at different times.

===Cod in the genus ''Gadus''/True cod===

Three species in the genus ''Gadus'' are currently called cod:

{| class="wikitable collapsible"
|-
|+ {{nowrap|Cod in the genus ''Gadus''}}
|-
! Common name
! Scientific name
! Maximum<br />length
! Common<br />length
! Maximum<br />weight
! Maximum<br />age
! [[Trophic level|Trophic<br />level]]
! [[FishBase|Fish<br />Base]]
! [[FAO]]
! [[ITIS]]
! [[IUCN|IUCN status]]
|-
| [[Atlantic cod]]
| ''Gadus morhua'' <small>[[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 200&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 100&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 96.0&nbsp;kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 25 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 4.4
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=FBAtlantic>{{FishBase | genus = Gadus | species = morhua | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2218/en ''Gadus morhua''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170907195108/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2218/en |date=7 September 2017 }} ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])  FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164712 |taxon=Gadus morhua}}</ref>
| [[File:VU IUCN 3 1.svg|VU IUCN 3 1.svg]] <small>Vulnerable</small><ref>Sobel, J. (1996). ''Gadus morhua''. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species {{doi|10.2305/IUCN.UK.1996.RLTS.T8784A12931575.en}}</ref>
|-
| [[Pacific cod]]
| ''Gadus macrocephalus'' <small>[[Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau|Tilesius]], 1810</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 119&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 22.7&nbsp;kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 18 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 4.0
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref name=FBPacific>{{FishBase | genus = Gadus | species = macrocephalus | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2219/en ''Gadus macrocephalus'' (Tilesius, 1810) ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160207194404/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2219/en |date=7 February 2016 }} FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164711 |taxon=Gadus macrocephalus}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Greenland cod]]
| ''Gadus ogac'' <small>Richardson, 1836</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 77.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 12 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.6
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Gadus | species = ogac | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3011/en ''Gadus ogac'' (Richardson, 1836) ] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201235558/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3011/en |date=1 February 2016 }} FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164717 |taxon=Gadus ogac}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|}

The fourth species of genus Gadus, ''[[Gadus chalcogrammus]]'', is commonly called ''Alaska pollock'' or ''walleye pollock''. But there are also less widespread alternative trade names highlighting the fish's belonging to the cod genus, like ''snow cod''<ref>Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: ''Whitefish Buyers Guide''. (Memento of the [https://web.archive.org/web/20060926232617/http://www.alaskaseafood.org/retailers/practices/pages/buyerguide-whitefish/index.html original] as of 26 September 2006 in the ''[[Internet Archive]]'').</ref><ref name="seafood-handbook">SeafoodSource.com (23 January 2014): ''[https://www.seafoodsource.com/seafood-handbook/finfish/pollock-alaska Alaska pollock] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210525040525/https://www.seafoodsource.com/seafood-handbook/finfish/pollock-alaska |date=25 May 2021 }}''.</ref><ref>Doré, Ian (1991): ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=5lLUBwAAQBAJ&dq=%22snow+cod%22&pg=PA126 The New Fresh Seafood Buyer's Guide: A manual for distributors, restaurants, and retailers] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200607210229/https://books.google.de/books?id=5lLUBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA126&lpg=PA126&dq=%22snow+cod%22&source=bl&ots=3JKgaK_uqF&sig=ACfU3U2yVYITK2_eFytdKdGvR-RPcyx8jw&hl=de&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwibq6Gc3b3pAhUJzKQKHRumADgQ6AEwD3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22snow%20cod%22&f=false |date=7 June 2020 }},'' p. 126.</ref> or ''bigeye cod''.<ref name="seafood-handbook"/>

===Related species===
''Cod'' forms part of the [[common name]] of many other fish no longer classified in the genus ''Gadus''. Many are members of the family [[Gadidae]]; others are members of three related families within the order [[Gadiformes]] whose names include the word "cod": the [[morid cod]]s, [[Moridae]] (100 or so species); the eel cods, [[Muraenolepididae]] (four species); and the [[Eucla cod]], [[Euclichthyidae]] (one species). The tadpole cod family ([[Ranicipitidae]]) has now been placed in Gadidae.

{| class=wikitable
|-
|+{{nowrap|"Cod" in the order Gadiformes, but not part of ''Gadus''}}
|-
! Common name
! Scientific name
! Maximum<br />length
! Common<br />length
! Maximum<br />weight
! Maximum<br />age
! [[Trophic level|Trophic<br />level]]
! [[FishBase|Fish<br />Base]]
! [[FAO]]
! [[ITIS]]
! [[IUCN|IUCN status]]
|-
| [[Arctic cod]]
| ''Arctogadus glacialis'' <small>(Peters, 1872)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 32.5&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.8
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Arctogadus | species = glacialis | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164704 |taxon=Arctogadus glacialis}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[East Siberian cod]]
| ''Arctogadus borisovi'' <small>(Dryagin, 1932)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 55.6&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.5&nbsp;kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.9 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Arctogadus | species = borisovi | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164703 |taxon=Arctogadus borisovi}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Eucla cod]]
| ''Euclichthys polynemus'' <small>(McCulloch, 1926)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 35.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 22.5&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.6
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Euclichthys | species = polynemus | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=550695 |taxon=Euclichthys polynemus}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Common ling]]
| ''Molva molva'' <small>([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 200&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 106&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 45.0&nbsp;kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 25 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 4.3
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Molva | species = molva | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2220/en ''Molva molva''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130320174050/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2220/en |date=20 March 2013 }} ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164760 |taxon=Molva molva}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Pelagic cod]]
| ''Melanonus gracilis'' <small>(Günther, 1878)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 18.7&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.5
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Melanonus | species = gracilis | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=550806 |taxon=Melanonus gracilis}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Polar cod]]
| ''Boreogadus saida'' <small>(Lepechin, 1774)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 40.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 25.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 7 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.1
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Boreogadus | species = saida | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2233/en ''Boreogadus saida'' (Lepechin, 1774)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130501094448/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/2233/en |date=1 May 2013 }} FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164706 |taxon=Boreogadus saida}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Poor cod]]
| ''Trisopterus minutus'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 40.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 20.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 5 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.8
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Trisopterus | species = minutus | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164754 |taxon=Trisopterus minutus}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Rock cod]]
| ''Lotella rhacina'' <small>(Forster, 1801)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 50.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.5
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Lotella | species = rhacina | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=622984|taxon=Lotella rhacina}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Saffron cod]]
| ''Eleginus gracilis'' <small>([[Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau|Tilesius]], 1810)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 55.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"| 1.3&nbsp;kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 15 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 4.1
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Eleginus | species = gracilis | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>[http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3014/en ''Eleginus gracilis'' (Tilesius, 1810)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212031909/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/3014/en |date=12 February 2013 }} FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved April 2012.</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=164708 |taxon=Eleginus gracilis}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Small-headed cod]]
| ''Lepidion microcephalus'' <small>(Cowper, 1956)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 48.0&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"|  years
| style="text-align:center;"| 3.5
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Lepidion | species = microcephalus | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=550831 |taxon=Lepidion microcephalus}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|-
| [[Tadpole cod]]
| ''Guttigadus globosus'' <small>(Paulin, 1986)</small>
| style="text-align:right;"| 18.1&nbsp;cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  cm
| style="text-align:right;"|  kg
| style="text-align:right;"| 3.5 years
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{FishBase | genus = Guttigadus | species = globosus | month = April | year = 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 
| style="text-align:center;"| <ref>{{ITIS |id=623005 |taxon=Guttigadus globosus}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| <small>Not assessed</small>
|}

Some fish have common names derived from "cod", such as [[Morids|codling]], [[codlet]], or [[tomcod]]. ("Codling" is also used as a name for a young cod.)

===Other species===
Some fish commonly known as cod are unrelated to ''Gadus''. Part of this name confusion is market-driven. Severely shrunken Atlantic cod stocks have led to the marketing of cod replacements using [[culinary name]]s of the form "''x'' cod", according to culinary rather than phyletic similarity. The common names for the following species have become well established; note that all inhabit the [[Southern Hemisphere]].

==== Perciformes ====
Fish of the [[order (biology)|order]] [[Perciformes]] that are commonly called "cod" include:
*[[Blue cod]] ''Parapercis colias''
*[[Eastern freshwater cod]] ''Maccullochella ikei''
*[[Mary River cod]] ''Maccullochella mariensis''
*[[Murray cod]] ''Maccullochella peelii''
*[[Potato cod]] ''Epinephelus tukula''
*[[Sleepy cod]] ''Oxyeleotris lineolatus''
*[[Trout cod]] ''Maccullochella macquariensis''
*The notothen family, [[Nototheniidae]], including:
**[[Antarctic cod]] ''Dissostichus mawsoni''
***''Dissostichus eliginoides'', the [[Patagonian toothfish]], is also marketed as "cod"
**[[Notothenia microlepidota|Black cod]] ''Notothenia microlepidota''
**[[Maori cod]] ''Paranotothenia magellanica''

==== Rock cod, reef cod, and coral cod ====
Almost all [[coral cod]], [[reef cod]] or [[rock cod]] are also in order [[Perciformes]]. Most are better known as [[grouper]]s, and belong to the family [[Serranidae]]. Others belong to the [[Nototheniidae]]. Two exceptions are the [[Australasia]]n [[red rock cod]], which belongs to a different order (see below), and the fish known simply as the rock cod and as [[soft cod]] in New Zealand, ''[[Lotella rhacina]]'', which as noted above actually is related to the true cod (it is a morid cod).

==== Scorpaeniformes ====
From the order [[Scorpaeniformes]]:
*[[Ling cod]] ''Ophiodon elongatus''
*[[Red rock cod]] ''Scorpaena papillosa''
*Rock cod ''[[Sebastes]]''

==== Ophidiiformes ====
The tadpole cod family, [[Ranicipitidae]], and the [[Eucla cod]] family, [[Euclichthyidae]], were formerly classified in the order [[Ophidiiformes]], but are now grouped with the [[Gadiformes]].

===Marketed as cod===
Some fish that do not have "cod" in their names are sometimes sold as cod. Haddock and whiting belong to the same family, the Gadidae, as cod.
* [[Haddock]] ''Melanogrammus aeglefinus''
* [[Merlangius merlangus|Whiting]] ''Merlangius merlangus''

==Characteristics==
[[File:Atlantic cod.jpg|thumb|upright=1.2|right|The [[Atlantic cod]], ''Gadus morhua'']]
Cods of the genus ''Gadus'' have three rounded [[Dorsal fin|dorsal]] and two [[anal fin]]s. The [[pelvic fin]]s are small, with the first ray extended, and are set under the [[gill]] cover (i.e. the throat region), in front of the [[pectoral fin]]s.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Cod's Journey Back Home—From Birth to Nursery |year=2021 |language=en |doi=10.3389/frym.2021.622088|doi-access=free |last1=Endo |first1=Clarissa Akemi Kajiya |last2=Vikebø |first2=Frode B. |last3=Yaragina |first3=Natalia A. |last4=Hjøllo |first4=Solfrid Sætre |last5=Stige |first5=Leif Christian |journal=Frontiers for Young Minds |volume=9 }}</ref> The upper jaw extends over the lower jaw, which has a well-developed [[Barbel (anatomy)|chin barbel]]. The eyes are medium-sized, approximately the same as the length of the chin barbel. Cod have a distinct white [[lateral line]] running from the gill slit above the pectoral fin, to the base of the [[caudal fin|caudal]] or tail fin. The back tends to be a greenish to sandy brown, and shows extensive mottling, especially towards the lighter sides and white belly. Dark brown colouration of the back and sides is not uncommon, especially for individuals that have resided in rocky inshore regions.

The [[Atlantic cod]] can change colour at certain water depths. It has two distinct colour phases: gray-green and reddish brown. Its average weight is {{convert|5|-|12|kg|lb|abbr=off}}, but specimens weighing up to {{convert|100|kg|lb|abbr=on}} have been recorded. Pacific cod are smaller than Atlantic cod<ref name=FBAtlantic /><ref name=FBPacific /> and are darker in colour.

==Distribution==
[[Atlantic cod]] (''Gadus morhua'') live in the colder waters and deeper sea regions throughout the North Atlantic. [[Pacific cod]] (''Gadus macrocephalus'') is found in both eastern and western regions of the [[Pacific Ocean|Pacific]].<ref name=EBr>[http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/123849/cod "Cod"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140308033613/http://global.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/123849/cod |date=8 March 2014 }}, ''Encyclopædia Britannica online'' 2008</ref>

Atlantic cod could be further divided into several [[Fish stocks|stocks]], including the [[Norway|Arcto-Norwegian]], [[North Sea]], [[Baltic Sea]], [[Faroe Islands|Faroe]], [[Iceland]], [[East Greenland]], [[West Greenland]], [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], and [[Labrador]] stocks. There seems to be little interchange between the stocks, although migrations to their individual breeding grounds may involve distances of {{convert|300|km|smi nmi|-1|abbr=off}} or more.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kjesbu |first1=Olav Sigurd |last2=Bogstad |first2=Bjarte |last3=Devine |first3=Jennifer A. |last4=Gjøsæter |first4=Harald |last5=Howell |first5=Daniel |last6=Ingvaldsen |first6=Randi B. |last7=Nash |first7=Richard D. M. |last8=Skjæraasen |first8=Jon Egil |title=Synergies between climate and management for Atlantic cod fisheries at high latitudes |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=4 March 2014 |volume=111 |issue=9 |pages=3478–3483 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1316342111 |pmid=24550465 |pmc=3948268 |bibcode=2014PNAS..111.3478K |language=en |issn=0027-8424|doi-access=free }}</ref> For instance, eastern Baltic cod shows specific reproductive adaptations to low salinity compared to Western Baltic and Atlantic cod.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Vallin|first1=Lars|last2=Nissling|first2=Anders|last3=Westin|first3=Lars|date=1999|title=Potential Factors Influencing Reproductive Success of Baltic Cod, Gadus morhua: A Review|journal=Ambio|volume=28|issue=1|pages=92–99|jstor=4314854|issn=0044-7447}}</ref>

Atlantic cod occupy varied habitats, favouring rough ground, especially inshore, and are [[demersal]] in depths between {{convert|6|and|60|m|ft fathom|abbr=off|sigfig=1}}, {{convert|80|m|ft fathom|abbr=on}} on average, although not uncommonly to depths of {{convert|600|m|ft fathom|abbr=on}}. Off the Norwegian and New England coasts and on the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland]], cod congregate at certain seasons in water of {{convert|30|-|70|m|ft fathom|sigfig=1|abbr=on}} depth. Cod are gregarious and form schools, although [[shoaling and schooling|shoaling]] tends to be a feature of the spawning season.

==Life cycle==
Spawning of northeastern Atlantic cod occurs between January and April (March and April are the peak months), at a depth of {{convert|200|m|ft}} in specific spawning grounds at water temperatures between {{convert|4|and|6|C|F}}. Around the UK, the major spawning grounds are in the middle to southern North Sea, the start of the [[Bristol Channel]] (north of [[Newquay]]), the [[North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland)|Irish Channel]] (both east and west of the [[Isle of Man]]), around [[Stornoway]], and east of [[Helmsdale]].

Prespawning courtship involves fin displays and male grunting, which leads to pairing.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Brawn | first1 = V.M. | year = 1961 | title = Reproductive behaviour of the cod ''(Gadus callarias L.)'' | jstor = 4532991 | journal = Behaviour | volume = 18 | issue = 3| pages = 177–197 | doi=10.1163/156853961x00114}}</ref> The male inverts himself beneath the female, and the pair swim in circles while spawning. The eggs are planktonic and hatch between eight and 23 days, with larva reaching {{convert|4|mm|in|frac=32|abbr=off}} in length. This planktonic phase lasts some ten weeks, enabling the young cod to increase its body weight by 40-fold, and growing to about {{convert|2|cm|in|frac=4|abbr=on}}. The young cod then move to the seabed and change their diet to small [[benthic]] [[crustaceans]], such as [[isopods]] and small crabs. They increase in size to {{convert|8|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} in the first six months, {{convert|14|-|18|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} by the end of their first year, and to {{convert|25|-|35|cm|in|frac=2|abbr=on}} by the end of the second. Growth tends to be less at higher latitudes. Cod reach maturity at about {{convert|50|cm|in|0|abbr=on}} at about 3 to 4 years of age. Changes in growth rate over decades of particular stocks have been reported, current eastern Baltic cod shows the lowest growth observed since 1955.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Mion|first1=Monica|last2=Haase|first2=Stefanie|last3=Hemmer-Hansen|first3=Jakob|last4=Hilvarsson|first4=Annelie|last5=Hüssy|first5=Karin|last6=Krüger-Johnsen|first6=Maria|last7=Krumme|first7=Uwe|last8=McQueen|first8=Kate|last9=Plikshs|first9=Maris|last10=Radtke|first10=Krzysztof|last11=Schade|first11=Franziska Maria|date=March 2021|title=Multidecadal changes in fish growth rates estimated from tagging data: A case study from the Eastern Baltic cod ( Gadus morhua, Gadidae )|url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12527|journal=Fish and Fisheries|language=en|volume=22|issue=2|pages=413–427|doi=10.1111/faf.12527|bibcode= |hdl=11585/809386 |s2cid=233795252|issn=1467-2960|access-date=21 November 2021|archive-date=21 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211121131356/https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/faf.12527|url-status=live|hdl-access=free}}</ref>

==Ecology==
{{See also|Diseases and parasites in cod}}
[[File:Lernaeocera branchialis.jpg|thumb|right|A fish with its gills infested with two [[cod worm]]s]]
Adult cod are active hunters, feeding on [[sand eel]]s, [[merlangius merlangus|whiting]], [[haddock]], small cod, [[squid]], [[crab]]s, [[lobster]]s, [[mussel]]s, [[worm]]s, [[mackerel]], and [[mollusc]]s.

In the Baltic Sea the most important prey species are [[Atlantic herring|herring]] and [[Sprattus sprattus|sprat]].<ref name=Koster2001/> Many studies that analyze the stomach contents of these fish indicate that cod is the top predator, preying on the herring and sprat.<ref name=Koster2001>{{cite journal|title=Developing Baltic cod recruitment models. I. Resolving spatial and temporal dynamics of spawning stock and recruitment for cod, herring, and sprat|journal=Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences|volume=58|issue=8|year=2001|pages=1516–1533|url=http://bioweb.coas.oregonstate.edu/~ciannellilab/cameo/articles/neuenfeldt/2001k%F6steretal.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://bioweb.coas.oregonstate.edu/~ciannellilab/cameo/articles/neuenfeldt/2001k%F6steretal.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|doi=10.1139/cjfas-58-8-1516|last1=Köster|first1=Friedrich W.|last2=Möllmann|first2=Christian|last3=Neuenfeldt|first3=Stefan|last4=St John|first4=Michael A|last5=Plikshs|first5=Maris|last6=Voss|first6=Rüdiger}} {{dead link|date=August 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Sprat form particularly high concentrations in the [[Bornholm]] Basin in the southern Baltic Sea.<ref name=Casini2004>{{cite journal|author1=Casini, Michele |author2=Cardinale, Massimiliano |author3= Arrheni, Fredrik |name-list-style=amp |title=Feeding preferences of herring (''Clupea harengus'') and sprat (''Sprattus sprattus'') in the southern Baltic Sea|doi=10.1016/j.icesjms.2003.12.011|year=2004|journal=ICES Journal of Marine Science|volume=61|issue=8|page=1267|bibcode=2004ICJMS..61.1267C |doi-access=free}}</ref> Although cod feed primarily on adult sprat, sprat tend to prey on the cod eggs and larvae.<ref name=Nissling2004>{{cite journal|author=Nissling, Anders|title=Effects of temperature on egg and larval survival of cod (''Gadus morhua'') and sprat (''Sprattus sprattus'') in the Baltic Sea – implications for stock development|doi=10.1023/B:hydr.0000018212.88053.aa|year=2004|journal=Hydrobiologia|volume=514|issue=1–3|pages=115–123|bibcode=2004HyBio.514..115N |s2cid=59944278}}</ref>

Cod and related species are plagued by parasites. For example, the [[cod worm]], ''Lernaeocera branchialis'', starts life as a [[copepod]]-like larva, a small free-swimming crustacean. The first host used by the larva is a [[flatfish]] or [[lumpsucker]], which it captures with grasping hooks at the front of its body. It penetrates the fish with a thin [[wiktionary:filament|filament]], which it uses to suck the fish's blood. The nourished larvae then mate on the fish.<ref name="Matthews">{{cite book|first=Bernard E. |last=Matthews|title=An Introduction to Parasitology |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=UILMlQpNVCYC}}|date=1998 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-57691-8 |pages=73–74}}</ref><ref name="Piper">{{cite book
|year=2007
|title=Extraordinary Animals: An Encyclopedia of Curious and Unusual Animals
|url=https://archive.org/details/extraordinaryani0000pipe|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Greenwood Press (publisher)|Greenwood Press]]|isbn=978-0-313-33922-6
}}</ref> The female larva, with her now fertilized eggs, then finds a cod, or a cod-like fish such as a [[haddock]] or [[Whiting (fish)|whiting]]. There the larva clings to the [[gill]]s while it metamorphoses into a plump sinusoidal wormlike body with a coiled mass of egg strings at the rear. The front part of the worm's body penetrates the body of the cod until it enters the rear bulb of the host's [[heart]]. There, firmly rooted in the cod's circulatory system, the front part of the parasite develops like the branches of a tree, reaching into the main [[artery]]. In this way, the worm extracts nutrients from the cod's blood, remaining safely tucked beneath the cod's gill cover until it releases a new generation of offspring into the water.<ref name="Matthews" /><ref name="Piper" />

{{Clear}}

==Fisheries==
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 | image1    = Time series for global capture of Atlantic and Pacific cod.png
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Global commercial capture of Atlantic and Pacific cod<br />in million tonnes reported by the [[FAO]] 1950–2010<ref name=FAOdata>Based on data sourced from the relevant [http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/search/en FAO Species Fact Sheets] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090508190513/http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/search/en |date=8 May 2009 }}</ref>
 | image2    = Time series for global capture of all cod 2.png
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = The same chart as above, but showing embedded in light green, the [[collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery]]<ref>Based on data sourced from the [http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/18043/en FIGIS database] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120430063052/http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/18043/en |date=30 April 2012 }}, FAO.</ref>
 | image3    = <!-- add this here because it's presence corrects a scaling bug -->
}}
{{main|Cod fisheries}}
{{Update|section|date=October 2022}}

The 2006 northwest Atlantic cod [[Individual fishing quota|quota]] is 23,000 tons, representing half the available stocks, while the northeast Atlantic quota is 473,000 tons. Pacific cod is currently enjoying strong global demand. The 2006 [[total allowable catch]] (TAC) for the [[Gulf of Alaska]] and [[Aleutian Islands]] was 260,000 tons.<ref>{{cite web|title=2019–2020 Alaska Groundfish Harvest Specifications {{!}} NOAA Fisheries|url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/2019-2020-alaska-groundfish-harvest-specifications|last=Fisheries|first=NOAA|date=2019-11-18|website=NOAA|language=en|access-date=2020-05-26|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728164742/https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/sustainable-fisheries/2019-2020-alaska-groundfish-harvest-specifications|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Aquaculture==
Farming of Atlantic cod has received a significant amount of interest due to the overall trend of increasing cod prices alongside reduced wild catches.<ref>[http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1820e/i1820e.pdf The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2010] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110915222055/http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/i1820e/i1820e.pdf |date=15 September 2011 }}. fao.org. {{ISBN|978-92-5-106675-1}}.</ref>  However, progress in creating large scale farming of cod has been slow, mainly due to bottlenecks in the larval production stage, where survival and growth are often unpredictable.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Kamisaka, Y. |author2=Jordal, A.E.O. |author3=Edvardsen, R.B. |author4=Kryvi, H. |author5=Otterlei, E. |author6=Rønnestad, I |year=2010 |title=A case report on the distended gut syndrome (DGS) in cultured larvae of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) |journal=[[Aquaculture (journal)|Aquaculture]] |volume=309 |issue=1–4 |pages=38–48 |doi=10.1016/j.aquaculture.2010.09.006|bibcode=2010Aquac.309...38K }}</ref>  It has been suggested that this bottleneck may be overcome by ensuring cod larvae are fed diets with similar nutritional content as the copepods they feed on in the wild <ref>{{cite journal |author1=van der Meeren, T. |author2=Olsen, R.E. |author3=Hamre, K. |author4=Fyhn, H.J |year=2008 |title=Biochemical composition of copepods for evaluation of feed quality in production of juvenile marine fish |journal=[[Aquaculture (journal)|Aquaculture]] |volume=274 |pages=375–397 |doi=10.1016/j.aquaculture.2007.11.041 |issue=2–4 |bibcode=2008Aquac.274..375V |url=https://brage.bibsys.no/xmlui/bitstream/11250/108219/1/Biochemical%20composition%20of%20Copepods%20-%20Accepted%20preproof.pdf |hdl=11250/108219 |hdl-access=free |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412025727/https://www.unit.no/ugyldig-lenke-til-dokument-i-vitenarkiv |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hamre, K. |author2=Srivastava, A. |author3=Rønnestad, I. |author4=Mangor-Jensen, A. |author5=Stoss, J |year=2008 |title=Several micronutrients in the rotifer Brachionus sp. may not fulfil the nutritional requirements of marine fish larvae. |journal=Aquaculture Nutrition |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=51–60 |doi=10.1111/j.1365-2095.2007.00504.x|bibcode=2008AqNut..14...51H |doi-access=free }}</ref> Recent examples have shown that increasing dietary levels of minerals such as selenium, iodine and zinc may improve survival and/or biomarkers for health in aquaculture reared cod larvae.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Hamre, K. |author2=Mollan, T.A. |author3=Sæle, Ø. |author4=Erstad, B |year=2008 |title=Rotifers enriched with iodine and selenium increase survival in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) larvae |journal=[[Aquaculture (journal)|Aquaculture]] |volume=284 |issue=1–4 |pages=190–195 |doi=10.1016/j.aquaculture.2008.07.052|bibcode=2008Aquac.284..190H }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Penglase, S. |author2=Nordgreen, A. |author3=van der Meeren, T. |author4=Olsvik, P. |author5=Sæle, O. |author6=Baeverfjord, G. |author7=Helland, S. |author8=Hamre, K |year=2010 |title=Increasing the level of selenium in rotifers (Brachionus plicatilis 'Cayman') enhances the mRNA expression and activity of glutathione peroxidase in Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua L.) larvae |journal=[[Aquaculture (journal)|Aquaculture]] |volume=306 |issue=1–4 |pages=259–269 |doi=10.1016/j.aquaculture.2010.05.011}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author1=Penglase, S. |author2=Harboe, T. |author3=Sæle, O. |author4=Helland, S. |author5=Nordgreen, A. |author6=Hamre, K. |year=2013 |title=Iodine nutrition and toxicity in Atlantic cod (''Gadus morhua'') larvae |journal=PeerJ |volume=1:e20 |doi=10.7717/peerj.20 |pmid=23638355 |article-number=e20|pmc=3628846 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|author1=Penglase, S. |author2=Hamre, K. |author3=Olsvik, P. |author4=Grøtan, E. |author5=Nordgreen, A |title=Rotifers enriched with iodine, copper and manganese had no effect on larval cod (Gadus morhua) growth, mineral status or redox system gene mRNA levels|journal=Aquaculture Research|volume=46 |issue=8 |page=1793 |date=2013|doi=10.1111/are.12332|doi-access=free }}</ref>
{{Clear}}

==As food==
{{Main|Cod as food}}
[[File:Preserved Codfish Bodara.jpg|thumb|right|Preserved codfish]]

Cod is popular as a [[food]] with a mild flavour and a dense, flaky [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|white flesh]]. Cod livers are processed to make [[cod liver oil]], an important source of [[vitamin A]], [[vitamin D]], [[vitamin E]] and [[omega-3 fatty acid]]s ([[eicosapentaenoic acid|EPA]] and [[docosahexaenoic acid|DHA]]).

Young Atlantic cod or [[haddock]] prepared in strips for cooking is called [[scrod]]. In the [[United Kingdom]], [[Atlantic cod]] is one of the most common ingredients in [[fish and chips]], along with [[haddock]] and [[plaice]]. Cod's soft liver can be tinned (canned) and eaten. 
{{Clear}}

==History==
[[File:Joachim Beuckelaer - Fish Market.jpg|thumb|right|Sixteenth-century [[Flanders|Flemish]] fishmonger displaying cod, by [[Joachim Beuckelaer]]]]

Cod has been an important economic commodity in [[international market]]s since the [[Viking]] period (around 800 AD). [[Norway|Norwegians]] travelled with [[dried and salted cod|dried cod]] and soon a dried cod market developed in southern [[Europe]]. This market has lasted for more than 1,000 years, enduring the [[Black Death]], wars and other crises, and is still an important Norwegian fish trade.<ref>{{cite journal |year=2000 |title=What was the Viking age and when did it happen? A view from Orkney |journal=[[Norwegian Archaeological Review]] |volume=33 |issue=1 |pages=1–39 |doi=10.1080/00293650050202600 |last1=Barrett |first1=James |last2=Beukens |first2=Roelf |last3=Simpson |first3=Ian |last4=Ashmore |first4=Patrick |last5=Poaps |first5=Sandra |last6=Huntley |first6=Jacqui|s2cid=162229393 }}</ref> The [[Portuguese people|Portuguese]] began fishing cod in the 15th century. [[Clipfish]] is widely enjoyed in Portugal. The [[Basques]] played an important role in the cod trade, and allegedly found the [[Grand Banks of Newfoundland|Canadian fishing bank]]s before [[Christopher Columbus|Columbus]]' discovery of America.<ref name=kurl>
{{cite book
|last=Kurlansky
|first=Mark
|author-link=Mark Kurlansky
|title=Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World
|year=1997
|publisher=Walker
|location=New York
|isbn=978-0-8027-1326-1
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/codbiographyof00kurl
}}</ref> The North American east coast developed in part due to the vast cod stocks. Many cities in the New England area are located near cod fishing grounds. The fish was so important to the history and development of [[Massachusetts]], the state's House of Representatives hung a wood carving of a codfish, known as the [[Sacred Cod of Massachusetts]], in its chambers.

Apart from the long history, cod differ from most fish because the fishing grounds are far from population centres. The large cod fisheries along the coast of [[North Norway]] (and in particular close to the [[Lofoten]] islands) have been developed almost uniquely for [[export]], depending on sea transport of [[stockfish]] over large distances.<ref>{{cite journal
| title = Norwegian fisheries research
| author = Rollefsen, G.
| journal = Fiskeridirektoratets Skrifter, Serie Havundersøkelser
| volume = 14
| pages = 1–36
| year = 1966
| issue = 1
| url = http://brage.bibsys.no/imr/handle/URN:NBN:no-bibsys_brage_8018
| access-date = 4 May 2012
| archive-date = 2 November 2012
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121102204152/http://brage.bibsys.no/imr/handle/URN:NBN:no-bibsys_brage_8018
| url-status = live
}}</ref> Since the introduction of salt, [[dried and salted cod]] (clipfish or 'klippfisk' in Norwegian) has also been exported. By the end of the 14th century, the [[Hanseatic League]] dominated trade operations and sea transport, with [[Bergen, Norway|Bergen]] as the most important port.<ref>
{{cite journal |author=Holt-Jensen, A.  |year=1985 |title=Norway and the sea: the shifting importance of marine resources through Norwegian history |journal=[[GeoJournal]] |volume=10 |issue=4 |pages=393–399 |doi=10.1007/BF00461710|bibcode=1985GeoJo..10..393H |s2cid=153579866 }}</ref>

[[William Pitt the Elder]], criticizing the [[Treaty of Paris (1763)|Treaty of Paris]] in [[Parliament of Great Britain|Parliament]], claimed cod was "British gold"; and that it was folly to restore [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]] fishing rights to the [[France|French]].

In the 17th and 18th centuries in the New World, especially in [[Massachusetts]] and Newfoundland, cod became a major commodity, creating trade networks and cross-cultural exchanges. In 1733, Britain tried to gain control over trade between New England and the British [[Caribbean]] by imposing the [[Molasses Act]], which they believed would eliminate the trade by making it unprofitable. The cod trade grew instead, because the "French were eager to work with the New Englanders in a lucrative contraband arrangement".<ref name=kurl/> In addition to increasing trade, the New England settlers organized into a "codfish aristocracy". The colonists rose up against Britain's "tariff on an import".

In the 20th century, [[Iceland]] re-emerged as a fishing power and entered the [[Cod Wars]]. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fishing off the European and American coasts severely depleted stocks and become a major political issue. The necessity of restricting catches to allow stocks to recover upset the fishing industry and politicians who are reluctant to hurt employment.

===Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery===
{{main|Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery}}
{{tone|date=December 2024}}
[[File:Surexploitation morue surpêcheEn.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[Atlantic cod#Northwest Atlantic cod|Atlantic fishery]] abruptly collapsed in 1992, following [[overfishing]] since the late 1950s, and an earlier partial collapse in the 1970s.<ref name=Frank>{{cite journal|author1=Kenneth T. Frank |author2=Brian Petrie |author3=Jae S. Choi |author4=William C. Leggett |year=2005|title=Trophic Cascades in a Formerly Cod-Dominated Ecosystem|journal=Science|volume=308 |pages=1621–1623|doi=10.1126/science.1113075|pmid=15947186|issue=5728|bibcode=2005Sci...308.1621F |s2cid=45088691 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/collapse-of-atlantic-cod-stocks-off-the-east-coast-of-newfoundland-in-1992_11e4|title=Collapse of Atlantic cod stocks off the East Coast of Newfoundland in 1992 {{!}} GRID-Arendal – Maps & Graphics library|website=www.grida.no|access-date=2017-02-22|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170222194251/http://www.grida.no/graphicslib/detail/collapse-of-atlantic-cod-stocks-off-the-east-coast-of-newfoundland-in-1992_11e4|archive-date=22 February 2017}}</ref>]]

On July 2, 1992, the Honourable [[John Crosbie]], Canadian [[Minister of Fisheries and Oceans (Canada)|Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans]], declared a two-year [[Moratorium (law)|moratorium]] on the Northern Cod fishery,<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=The cod delusion |url=https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/the-cod-delusion/ |access-date=2024-01-07 |website=canadiangeographic.ca |language=en-US}}</ref> a designated fishing region off the coast of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], after data showed that the total cod biomass had suffered a collapse to less than 1% of its normal value.<ref name="Hamilton and Butler, 1">Hamilton and Butler, 1.</ref> The minister championed the measure as a temporary solution, allowing the cod population time to recover.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Mason |first=Fred |date=2002 |title=The Newfoundland Cod Stock Collapse: A Review and Analysis of Social Factors |url=https://escholarship.org/uc/item/19p7z78s |journal=Electronic Green Journal |language=en |volume=1 |issue=17 |doi=10.5070/G311710480|doi-access=free }}</ref> The fisheries had long shaped the lives and communities on Canada's Atlantic eastern coast for the preceding five centuries. Societies which are dependent on fishing have a strong mutual relationship with them: the act of fishing changes the ecosystems' balance, which forces the fishery and, in turn, the fishing societies to adapt to new ecological conditions.<ref name="Hamilton and Butler, 1"/>

The near-complete destruction of the Atlantic northwest cod biomass off the shores devastated coastal communities, which had been overexploiting the same cod population for decades.<ref name=":1" /> The fishermen along the Atlantic northwest had employed modern fishing technologies, including the ecologically-devastating practice of [[trawling]], especially in the years leading up to the 1990s, in the misguided belief that fishing stocks are perpetually plentiful and unable to be depleted.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Pedersen |first1=Eric J. |last2=Thompson |first2=Patrick L. |last3=Ball |first3=R. Aaron |last4=Fortin |first4=Marie-Josée |last5=Gouhier |first5=Tarik C. |last6=Link |first6=Heike |last7=Moritz |first7=Charlotte |last8=Nenzen |first8=Hedvig |last9=Stanley |first9=Ryan R. E. |last10=Taranu |first10=Zofia E. |last11=Gonzalez |first11=Andrew |last12=Guichard |first12=Frédéric |last13=Pepin |first13=Pierre |date=July 2017 |title=Signatures of the collapse and incipient recovery of an overexploited marine ecosystem |journal=Royal Society Open Science |language=en |volume=4 |issue=7 |article-number=170215 |doi=10.1098/rsos.170215 |issn=2054-5703 |pmc=5541544 |pmid=28791149|bibcode=2017RSOS....470215P }}</ref><ref name=":0" /> After this assumption was empirically and abruptly shown to be incorrect, to the dismay of government officials and rural workers, some 19,000 fishermen and cod processing plant workers in Newfoundland lost their employment.<ref name=":1" /> Nearly 40,000 workers and harvesters in the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador applied for the federal relief program TAGS (the Atlantic Groundfish Strategy). Abandoned and rusting fishing boats still litter the coasts of Newfoundland and the Canadian northwest to this day.<ref name=":0" />

The fishery minister, John Crosbie, after delivering a speech on the day before the declaration of the moratorium, or July 1, 1992, was publicly heckled and verbally harassed by disgruntled locals at a fishing village.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-07 |title=Fish still missing, traditions extinct 30 years after N.L. cod moratorium {{!}} CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-30th-anniversary-1.6506628 |access-date=2024-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107022718/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-moratorium-30th-anniversary-1.6506628 |archive-date=7 January 2024 }}</ref> The moratorium, initially lasting for only two years,<ref name=":1" /> was indefinitely extended after it became evident that cod populations had not recovered at all but, instead, had continued to spiral downward in both size and numbers, due to the damage caused by decades of horrible fishing practices, and the fact that the moratorium had permitted exceptions for food fisheries for "personal consumption" purposes to this very day.<ref name=":1" /> Some 12,000 tons of Northwest cod are still being caught every year along the Newfoundland coast by local fishermen.<ref name=":0" />

The collapse of the four-million ton biomass, which had persevered through several previous marine extinctions over tens of millions of years, in a timespan of no more than 20 years, is oft-cited by researchers as one of the most visible examples of the phenomenon of the "Tragedy of the Commons."<ref name=":1" /> Factors which had been implicated as contributing to the collapse include: overfishing; government mismanagement; the disregard of scientific uncertainty;<ref name=":1" /> warming habitat waters; declining reproduction; and plain human ignorance.<ref name=":0" /> The Northern Cod biomass has been recovering slowly since the imposition of the moratorium. However, as of 2021, the growth of the cod population has been stagnant since 2017, and some scientists argue that the population will not rebound unless the Fisheries Department of Canada lower its yearly quota to 5,000 tons.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-07 |title=After almost 3 decades, cod are still not back off N.L. Scientists worry it may never happen {{!}} CBC News |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-return-1.5992916 |access-date=2024-01-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240107023258/https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/newfoundland-labrador/cod-return-1.5992916 |archive-date=7 January 2024 }}</ref>

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|{{multiple image
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 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = [[Fishing stage]] for curing and drying cod, [[Herman Moll]] 1654–1732
 | image2    = Drying fish, Burgeo, NL, 1908.jpg
 | width2    = 220
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = Drying fish 1908
 | image3    = Commercial fishing.jpg
 | width3    = 188
 | alt3      = 
 | caption3  = Cod and halibut before 1927
}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = History
 | header_align      = center
 | image1    = La pêche de la morue à Terre-Neuve en 1858-fabrication de l’huile de morue.jpg
 | width1    = 190
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Manufacturing cod-liver oil,<br />Newfoundland 1858 <ref name=Girard>Girard, Fulgence (1858) [http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/La_p%C3%AAche_de_la_morue La pêche de la morue] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120730222620/http://fr.wikisource.org/wiki/La_p%C3%AAche_de_la_morue |date=30 July 2012 }} (The cod fishery) ''Le Monde illustré'', '''53'''. 17 April 1858. [http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Ffr.wikisource.org%2Fwiki%2FLa_p%25C3%25AAche_de_la_morue&act=url Google translation] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140224000455/http://translate.google.co.nz/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&js=n&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=2&eotf=1&u=http:%2F%2Ffr.wikisource.org%2Fwiki%2FLa_p%C3%AAche_de_la_morue&act=url |date=24 February 2014 }}</ref>

 | image2    = La pêche de la morue à Terre-Neuve en 1858.jpg
 | width2    = 150
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = Cod fishery,<br />Newfoundland 1858 <ref name=Girard />
 | image3    = Carlisle Packing Co floating cannery NOAA.jpg
 | width3    = 250
 | alt3      = 
 | caption3  = Carlisle Packaging Company, a floating cod cannery, [[Yukon River]], Alaska c. 1918
}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = Paintings
 | header_align      = center
 | image1    =
 | width1    = 157
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Sign for the Cod and Lobster
 | image3    = Anna Ancher, Skagener kinder tragen einen dorsch herein,o.dat, Museum Kunst der Westküste.jpg
 | width3    = 160
 | alt3      = 
 | caption3  = Little Girl with a Cod, [[Anna Ancher]]
 | image4    = Isaac van Duynen - Still life of fish.jpg
 | width4    = 288
 | alt4      = 
 | caption4  = Still-life with fish and shellfish, [[Isaac van Duynen]]

}}

{{multiple image
 | align = left
 | direction = horizontal
 | header            = Stamps
 | header_align      = center
 | image1    = Codstamp.jpg
 | width1    = 120
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = Cod postage stamp, [[Dominion of Newfoundland|Newfoundland]]
 | image2    =
 | width2    = 165
 | alt2     = 
 | caption2  = 
 | image3    = DBP 1964 415 Jugend Kabeljau.jpg
 | width3    = 175
 | alt3      = 
 | caption3  = 
}}

|}

== See also==
{{Portal|Fish}}
* ''[[The Cod Fisheries: The History of an International Economy]]'', for the Canadian industry

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
{{External media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?110348-1/cod-biography-fish Presentation by Mark Kurlansky on ''Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World'', August 15, 1998], [[C-SPAN]]}}
* Bavington, Dean L. Y. ''Managed Annihilation: An Unnatural History of the Newfoundland Cod Collapse'' (University of British Columbia Press; 2010) 224 pages. Links the collapse of Newfoundland and Labrador cod fishing to state management of the resource.
* {{Cite book
 | last = Cobb
 | first = John N.
 | title = Pacific Cod Fisheries
 | publisher = Government Printing Office
 | series = Bureau of Fisheries Document
 | volume = 830
 | year = 1916
 | location = Washington, DC
 | url = {{google books |plainurl=y |id=SGEZAAAAYAAJ}}
 | oclc = 14263968}}
* {{Cite book |last=Greenberg |first=Paul |year=2010 |title=Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZVvK7yp1FzkC |location=New York |publisher=Penguin Press |isbn=978-1-59420-256-8 |oclc=813929026}}
* [[Mark Kurlansky]] (1997). ''Cod: A Biography of the Fish That Changed the World''.
*{{Cite book
 | last = Shields
 | first = Edward
 | title = Salt of the Sea: The Pacific Coast Cod Fishery and the Last Days of Sail
 | publisher = Heritage House
 | year = 2001
 | location = Lopez Island, Wash.
 | isbn = 978-1-894384-35-3 }}

==External links==
{{Wiktionary}}
{{Commons|Cod dishes}}
{{Wikispecies|Gadus}}
* [http://www.ucd.ie/codtrace/codfish.htm Codtrace]. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201152058/http://www.ucd.ie/codtrace/codfish.htm |date=1 February 2016 }}.
* [http://www.fishbase.org/NomenClature/ScientificNameSearchList.cfm?Genus=Gadus fishbase.org – Scientific Names for Gadus]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120501074530/http://www.fisheriesheritage.ca/ Fisheries Heritage website, Newfoundland and Labrador] (archived)
* [http://www.nfh.uit.no/phaeocystis/uvac/TIM.htm Long term trends in Norwegian cod fisheries – the pioneers]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120311082838/http://www.seafish.org/upload/file/fisheries_management/Cod%20Factsheet2%20APRIL%202007%20v.1.1.pdf Species factsheet on cod from the UK Sea Fish Industry Authority] (PDF, 2MB)
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Cod|short=x}}

{{cod topics|state=expanded}}
{{Commercial fish topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Commercial fish]]
[[Category:Gadidae]]
[[Category:Fish common names]]