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Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758

Atlantic cod
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Gadus morhua   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Gadus morhua (Atlantic cod)
Gadus morhua
Picture by Morris, P.


Iceland country information

Common names: Fiskibollur, Lutfiskur, Þorskur
Occurrence: native
Salinity: brackish
Abundance: | Ref:
Importance: highly commercial | Ref: FAO, 1994
Aquaculture: commercial | Ref: FAO, 1997
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Also Ref. 1371.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://brunnur.stjr.is/interpro/sjavarutv/english.nsf/pages/front
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Jonsson, G., 1992
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Classification / Names Nombres comunes | Sinónimos | Catalog of Fishes(Género, Especie) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

> Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Etymology: Gadus: Latin, gadus = a fish, cod? (Ref. 45335).
  More on author: Linnaeus.

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

marino; salobre bentopelágico; oceanodromo (Ref. 51243); rango de profundidad 0 - 600 m (Ref. 1371), usually 150 - 200 m (Ref. 54441).   Temperate; 0°C - 15°C; 83°N - 35°N, 76°W - 86°E (Ref. 1371)

Distribución Países | Áreas FAO | Ecosistemas | Ocurrencias, apariciones | Point map | Introducciones | Faunafri

North Atlantic and Arctic: Ungava Bay in Canada along the North American coast to Cape Hatteras; North Carolina in the western Atlantic. East and west coast of Greenland; around Iceland; from Barents Sea including the region around Bear Island along the European coast to Bay of Biscay (Ref. 88171).

Length at first maturity / Tamaño / Peso / Age

Maturity: Lm 65.4, range 31 - 74 cm
Max length : 200 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 1371); common length : 100.0 cm TL macho / no sexado; (Ref. 1371); peso máximo publicado: 96.0 kg (Ref. 9988); edad máxima reportada: 25 años (Ref. 173)

Short description Claves de identificación | Morfología | Morfometría

Espinas dorsales (total) : 0; Radios blandos dorsales (total) : 44 - 55; Espinas anales: 0; Radios blandos anales: 33 - 45; Vértebra: 51 - 55. Protruding upper jaw, a conspicuous barbel on the lower jaw, and light lateral line, curved above the pectoral fins. Predorsal distance is less than one third of total length; body depth about 1/5 of total length. Color varies from brownish to greenish or gray dorsally and on upper sides, becoming pale and silvery ventrally. Peritoneum silvery.

Biología     Glosario (por ej. epibenthic)

Widely distributed in a variety of habitats, from the shoreline down to the continental shelf. Juveniles prefer shallow (less than 10-30 m depth) sublittoral waters with complex habitats, such as seagrass beds, areas with gravel, rocks, or boulder, which provide protection from predators (Refs. 89383, 89384). Adults are usually found in deeper, colder waters. During the day, form schools and swim about 30-80 m above the bottom, dispersing at night to feed (Ref. 1371, 89385). Omnivorous; feed at dawn or dusk on invertebrates and fish, including young cod. (Ref. 1371). Migrate between spawning, feeding and overwintering areas, mostly within the boundaries of the respective stocks. Migrations >200 km are rare occurrences (Refs. 89386, 89387). Marketed fresh, dried or salted, smoked and frozen; eaten steamed, fried, broiled, boiled, microwaved and baked (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproducción | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larva

Spawning occurs in winter and beginning of spring, where big schools are formed. Spawning sites are in offshore waters, at or near the bottom, in 50-200 m depth and 0-12 °C (preferred range 0-6°C) (Refs. 1371, 89387). May form spawning aggregations in the water column when bottom temperatures are unsuitable (Ref. 1371). Different spawning areas may be used in subsequent years (Ref. 89387). Embryo development lasts about 14 days (at 6°C) and larval phase lasts about 3 months(at 8°C). Fecundity ranges from 2.5 million eggs in a 5 kg female to a record of 9 million eggs in a 34 kg female. Reported number of batches spawned in an experiment is 8 - 22 (Ref. 5513). Sex ratio is nearly 50%, with slight predominance of females. Classified as a determinate multiple spawner (Ref. 40290). Older and larger cod had been found to produce larger eggs with neutral buoyancy at lower salinities. This can be crucial to egg and larval survival (Refs. 31930, 38384). Larvae are pelagic up to 2.5 months before settling on the bottom (Ref. 1371). In the Baltic, spawning cumulates in March at depths below 20 m near the bottom. The nursery areas are in the inner coastal zone. Recruitment to the fished stock starts below 2 years and peaks at about 3 years of age (Ref. 5947).

Main reference Upload your references | Referencias | Coordinador | Colaboradores

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)

  Vulnerable, ver lista roja de la UICN (VU) (A1bd); Date assessed: 01 August 1996

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Pesquerías: muy comercial; Acuicultura: comercial; pesca deportiva: si
FAO(Aquaculture systems: producción, species profile; pesquerías: producción, species profile; publication : search) | FIRMS (Stock assessments) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

Herramientas

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Fuentes de Internet

Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.5 - 10.3, mean 6.6 (based on 769 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00676 (0.00606 - 0.00754), b=3.08 (3.05 - 3.11), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Nivel trófico (Ref. 69278):  4.1   ±0.2 se; based on diet studies.
Resiliencia (Ref. 120179):  Medio, población duplicada en un tiempo mínimo de 1.4-4.4 años (rm=0.2-1.1; also (Ref. 36717)).
Prior r = 0.51, 95% CL = 0.34 - 0.76, Based on 66 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High to very high vulnerability (65 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  Moderate vulnerability (39 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Medium.