Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a saltwater, brackish species recorded in the United States. It is found at depths of 0–300 m.
Scientific name: Gadus morhua · Water: Saltwater, Brackish
Size: up to 180 cm
The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is a Gadidae fish of the genus Gadus — one of three cod species alongside Pacific cod and Alaska pollock — with a brown or green spotted back shading to silver below and a clearly visible lateral line, living for up to 25 years and maturing between two and eight years of age. In the western Atlantic it is distributed north of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and around both coasts of Greenland and the Labrador Sea, with habitat running from the coastal shoreline down to about 300 m along the continental shelf; it is a shoaling species that migrates inshore after spawning to feed, with larger fish acting as scouts for the shoal. It is one of the most heavily fished species in the world and supported the US and Canadian fishing economy until 1992, when Canada banned cod fishing after stocks collapsed by more than 95% — the species is currently assessed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and several stocks remain at risk. US anglers fish for cod from boats, and to a lesser extent from shore, over the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank using bait, jigs and tube lures, and the fish is marketed fresh or as stockfish, salt cod and clipfish. No specific US fishing season is documented in the sources used here.
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