Description

Cod, considered the “default setting from which all other fish species vary,” belongs to the Gadidae family, also comprising haddock, pollock, hake and hoki. Cod sports a distinctive barbel beneath its chin; at its other end is a broom-shaped tail. Atlantic cod is harvested with bottom trawls, gillnets, longlines and hook and line on both sides of the North Atlantic. Market size is 2 1/2 to 10 pounds. Large cod weigh 10 to 25 pounds; jumbos are 25 and over. The term scrod generally refers to cod under 2 1/2 pounds. Atlantic cod’s smaller, paler counterpart, Pacific cod, averages 5 to 10 pounds. It is taken by trawls, longlines and pots. The Bering and Barents seas and Gulf of Alaska are major fishing grounds. The two cod species are often not separately distinguished in the marketplace but offered simply as “cod.” The fish is found in various forms around the globe. Salted cod is widely used throughout the Mediterranean, Caribbean and Africa. Canada and Norway are major producers of salt cod. Norway has also had success in commercially farming cod.

Images and data provided by SeafoodSource. To view the entire Seafood Handbook, visit SeafoodSource.com.