Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua)- one of the most famous and valuable commercial fish in the world. Its white, tender meat is highly prized in cooking, and its liver is a source of healthy fish oil.
🔹 What makes cod special?
✔ One of the most important fish for the fishing industry for centuries
✔ It can live up to 25 years and reach significant sizes-up to 2 meters in length.
✔ It is able to migrate long distances in search of food and spawning grounds
✔ It is the main predator in its ecosystem, affecting the balance of marine biocenoses
Cod is not just a fish, but an important component of the history of navigation, culture and the food industry. Let's take a look at all its features!
Scientific classification
🔬 Taxonomy of Atlantic cod:
✔ The Kingdom: Animals (Animalia)
✔ Type: Chordal (Chordata)
✔ Class: Lucheperi pisces (Actinopterygii)
✔ Row: Cod-shaped (Gadiformes)
✔ Family: Cod (Gadidae)
✔ Gender: Wood chips (Gadus)
✔ View: Gadus morhua
📌 Interesting!
Scientific name morhua it comes from an Old Norse word meaning "fish food". This highlights the enormous importance of cod to humans for thousands of years.
Appearance and anatomy
🔹 Main Features:
✔ Elongated fusiform body covered with small scales
✔ Three dorsal and two anal fins for maneuverability in the water
✔ Chin whiskers that help you find food at the bottom of the ocean
✔ The color changes depending on the environment:
• Green-brown or grey on the back
• Light, almost white on the belly
• Dark spots all over the body
🔹 Sizes:
✔ Average length: 50-80 cm
✔ Maximum length: 200 cm
✔ Average weight: 2-6 kg
✔ Maximum weight: 96 kg
📌 High score!
The largest known cod was caught off the coast of Norway and weighed 96 kg, and its length reached 1.8 m!
Range and habitat
🌍 Where does Atlantic cod live?
✅ North Atlantic:
* Off the coast of Canada and the United States
• Greenland
* Northern Europe (Norway, Iceland, United Kingdom)
* Barents and North Sea
* Off the coast of Russia (Murmansk, Belomorye)
🔹 Habitat features:
✔ It lives both in the open sea and on the continental shelf.
✔ Prefers cool waters (2 to 10°C)
✔ It can live both at depths of over 600 m and in coastal areas.
📌 Interesting!
Cod populations often exercise seasonal migrations travel long distances in search of food and spawning grounds.
Life cycle and reproduction
🔹 How does cod live?
✔ Lives near the coast at a young age, then migrates to the open sea
Reaches sexual maturity at 2-4 years of age (sometimes later)
✔ Spawning occurs at great depths (100-300 m)
🔹 Spawning:
✔ Occurs in winter and spring
✔ The female lays from 500,000 to 9,000,000 eggs!
✔ Caviar drifts in the water column, and after 2-4 weeks larvae hatch from it
📌 Interesting!
Adults they don't care about their offspring - fry look for their own food and adapt to life.
Nutrition and lifestyle
🔹 What does cod eat?
✅ Adults:
• Herring
* Sardines
* Shrimp
• Shellfish
✅ Young people:
• Plankton
* Small crustaceans
📌 Interesting!
Cod – predatorwhich actively hunts and can even eat juveniles of its own species.
Enemies and threats
🔹 Predators:
❌ Sharks
Killer Whale Braid
Ty seals
🔹 Major threats to the species:
Supramir excessive commercial fishing
Zabrudnennya ocean pollution
Zminiand changes in water temperature due to global warming
📌 Interesting!
Some cod populations have declined by more than 70% because of overfishing in the 20th century.
Meaning for a person
🌍 Main usage aspects:
✔ One of the most valuable fish species in the world trade
✔ High in protein and omega-3 fatty acids
✔ Cod liver oil is used to produce fish oil
🔹 Fisheries and aquaculture:
✔ Annually catches over 1 million tons wood chips
✔ It is bred on special farms to reduce the burden on wild populations
📌 Interesting!
In Iceland, cod is so important that it was depicted on ancient coins!
Conclusion
🐟 Atlantic cod is a real gift of the sea!
It plays a key role in the ocean ecosystem and is also a major source of protein for millions of people around the world.
💡 However, its future depends on how humanity regulates fishing.
📢 Have you ever tried cod dishes? Which ones do you like best?
