Pacific cod

Gadus macrocephalus

Fish
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth22–186 m
Water temperature-0–16 °C
Best monthsJune
How commonCommon

Photo credit: (c) dpcmiller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

About this species

The Pacific cod is a species of ray-finned fish in the family Gadidae. It is a bottom-dwelling fish found in the northern Pacific Ocean, mainly on the continental shelf and upper slopes, to depths of about 900 m (3,000 ft). It can grow to a length of a meter or so and is found in large schools. They feed on clams, worms, crabs, shrimp, and juvenile fish. It is an important commercial food species and is also known as gray cod or grey cod, and grayfish or greyfish. Fishing for this species is regulated with quotas being allotted for hook and line fishing, pots, and bottom trawls. Fossils have been found in Canada near a Steller Sea lion fossil dating to the Pleistocene.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Pacific cod”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 24 records
February: 26 records
March: 41 records
April: 243 records
May: 4,816 records
June: 10,097 records
July: 3,447 records
August: 1,078 records
September: 821 records
October: 85 records
November: 84 records
December: 17 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 22–186 m · Deepest record: 695 m

0–10 m: 1,363 records
10–20 m: 24 records
20–30 m: 651 records
30–40 m: 442 records
40–50 m: 670 records
50–60 m: 675 records
60–70 m: 780 records
70–80 m: 677 records
80–90 m: 672 records
90–100 m: 649 records
100–110 m: 699 records
110+ m: 6,985 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of -0–16 °C

-2–0 °C: 3 records
0–2 °C: 4 records
2–4 °C: 50 records
4–6 °C: 157 records
6–8 °C: 63 records
8–10 °C: 406 records
10–12 °C: 268 records
12–14 °C: 0 records
14–16 °C: 1 records

Photos

no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) Aleya Stotesbery, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
no rights reserved · CC0 1.0 · iNaturalist
(c) dpcmiller, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Matt Muir, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist
(c) Anastasiia Samokhvalova, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY · iNaturalist

Names and classification

English: Pacific cod, Greenland cod, Pacific kod

Names in 6 more languages

German: GrönlandKabeljau, Pazifischer Kabeljau
Spanish: Bacalao de Groenlandia, Bacalao del Pacifico, Bacalao del Pacífico
French: cabillaud du Pacifique, cabillaud ogac, Morue de roche, morue du Pacifique, Morue du Pacifique, morue ogac, ogac
Japanese: Madara, マダラ
Korean: 대구
Simplified Chinese: 大頭鱈, 太平洋鱈

Other scientific names: Gadus auratus, Gadus brandti, Gadus brandtii, Gadus ogac, Gadus ogat, Gadus ovak, Gadus pygmaeus

Similar species

Alaska pollock
Gadus chalcogrammus
Atlantic cod
Gadus morhua

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
77,901 open-data records from 1891 to 2024.
Species data updated November 2, 2026.

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