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Boreogadus saida (Lepechin, 1774)

Polar cod
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Boreogadus saida   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Boreogadus saida (Polar cod)
Boreogadus saida
Picture by Dolgov, A.

Greenland country information

Common names: Ekalluak, Ekalugak, Eqalugaq
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Muus, B., F. Salomonsen and C. Vibe, 1990
Importance: | Ref:
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: bait: yes;
Comments: Common along the coasts (Ref. 9926). Also Ref. 6302, 6793, 9925.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/gl.html
National Fisheries Authority:
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Morue polaire, Bacalao polar, Сайка (=полярная тресочка), ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Etymology: Boreogadus: Greek, boreas = north wind + Latin, gadus = a fish, cod? (Ref. 45335).

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; demersal; oceanodromous (Ref. 12074); depth range 0 - 1383 m (Ref. 58426), usually 0 - 400 m (Ref. 1371).   Polar; -2°C - 8°C (Ref. 96379); 87°N - 52°N, 180°W - 180°E (Ref. 1371)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Circumpolar in the Arctic. North Atlantic: White Sea, Iceland, and southern Greenland into the Miramichi River, New Brunswick in Canada. North Pacific: Bering Sea to Cape Olyutorski, the Pribilof Islands, and Bristol Bay.

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 40.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 25.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. reported age: 7 years (Ref. 1371)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 42 - 57; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 33 - 44; Vertebrae: 49 - 57. Caudal fin deeply concave. Lower jaw slightly longer than upper jaw. Chin barbel very small. No lateral line pores on head. Scales small and embedded, not overlapping. Brownish along the back with many fine points; the sides and belly silvery; the fins dusky with pale margins (Ref. 1371).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Occurs in coastal habitats during summer and winter (Ref. 1371). Cryopelagic or epontic, from surface down to 1383 m (Ref. 58426). In the Beaufort Sea, it may also be found in brackish lagoons and in almost fresh water in river mouths (Ref. 1371). Although associated with the occurrence of ice (White Sea), it is present in ice-free near-shore waters (Alaska) (Ref. 1371). Onshore-offshore movements are associated with spawning and movements of the ice (Ref. 27547). Feeds mostly on epibenthic mysids, also amphipods, copepods and fishes (Ref. 1371). Also caught with mid-water trawls (Ref. 1371). Utilized as fishmeal and source of oil (Ref. 1371). Euryhaline and eurythermic.

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous, sexes are separate (Ref. 101194). Fish move close inshore, often in large numbers to spawn (Ref. 27547).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p. (Ref. 1371)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | Faunafri | Fishtrace | GenBank(genome, nucleotide) | GloBI | GOBASE | | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | Public aquariums | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Scirus | SeaLifeBase | Tree of Life | Wikipedia(Go, Search) | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): -1.3 - 4, mean 0.2 (based on 1585 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 1.0000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00457 (0.00360 - 0.00581), b=3.16 (3.09 - 3.23), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.1   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.22; tm=2-5; Fec=30,000).
Prior r = 0.28, 95% CL = 0.19 - 0.43, Based on 2 data-limited stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate to high vulnerability (46 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (40 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   High.