Range and Identity
Gadus macrocephalus occurs around the North Pacific, including the Bering Sea and coasts southward toward Japan and California. It is uncommon toward the southern end of the eastern range. Broader Arctic and Atlantic claims require taxonomic care and are not used to extend this North Pacific account.
Habitat and Behavior
Adults move seasonally between deeper shelf-edge or upper-slope areas and shallower shelf feeding grounds. Mud, sand and clay provide bottom habitat. Larvae and small juveniles occur through the water column, so life stage should accompany any statement about living close to the bottom.
Food and Life History
Clams, worms, crabs, shrimps and juvenile fishes are recorded foods. Spawning can produce very large numbers of eggs. NOAA’s upper length is retained with an unspecified measurement convention, separate from the compiled mass reference and from a lower length maximum in another account.
Field Note
Record life stage, season and depth together. They explain why a small fish in midwater and an adult near the bottom can both fit the species’ habitat.
All Lakes With Pacific Cod
Browse all lakes and reservoirs with confirmed Pacific Cod records in our database, listed alphabetically.
No published lakes are currently linked to this species in our confirmed records.