According to the legend, a Venetian sailor named Pietro Querini set out from Norway's Lofoten Islands some 550 years ago carrying some torr fisk or dried cod, a fish destined to leave its mark on world culture. The Hanseatic League, the slave trade, the settling of the New World all owe something to the greatest gadoid of them all: cod.
Lately, though, the empire that King Cod built has gotten rather fractious. The Norwegians are threatening the Icelandics; the Canadians are patrolling their 200 mile limit, (both inside and out), with a naval submarine; and New Englanders are in the throes of reinventing their industry.
Enter that "upstart" from the other ocean: Pacific cod. Moist, sweet and big of flake, it's filling the cod gap in surprising places these days, as is Atlantic cod from Norway and Russia. The king is dead? Long live the king.
Species Specifics
- There are more than 60 species of cod worldwide, including a "new" species of Moray cod, recently discovered off the coast of New Zealand at a depth of more than 5,500 feet.
- There are two major stocks of Atlantic cod (Gadus Morhua) along the U.S. East Coast: Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine. The total U.S. catch in 1993 was 25,000 tons, with a further drop expected for 1994.
- Due to Georges Bank's unique mix of warm water and high-energy food fish, cod there reach sexual maturity at two or three years of age, compared to four to seven years on the other side of the Atlantic.
- Slightly larger than their Atlantic cousins, Pacific cod (Gadus Macrocephalus) dominate the U.S. catch of cod these days. The 1995 Alaska quota is almost 320,000 tons up more than 30% over 1994!
- More than 30 countries currently fish for Atlantic cod, led by Norway (1994 quota: 336,000 tons), Russia (314,000) and Iceland (155,000).
Pacific Powerhouse
- Much of early American history may owe a debt to Atlantic cod, but the future more likely belongs to Pacific cod, which is enjoying increasing popularity from the Far East to the East Coast. Increasing numbers, too, as trawl surveys last year indicate that the Alaska cod biomass may be nearly double that of previous estimates.
- That's good news for both sellers and buyers. In Asia, the action is no longer just in reprocessing for re-export, but rather in the importation of frozen whole fish for domestic consumption. Meanwhile, along the U.S. East Coast, the "refreshed" market (i.e., frozen H&G fish that's slacked out for filleting) continues to expand. New England cutters report such success with Pacific cod that they've expanded the concept to other species, including rex and flathead sole.
From Kissing Cods to Bussing Birds
The decline of Canada's Atlantic cod stocks continues to take its toll on the region and its cod-based culture: At the Quidi Vidi Inn outside St. John's, Newfoundland, they now conduct the traditional screeching-in ceremony (i.e., "kissing the cod") with a turr, a small sea bird. "We used to use the codfish," note the proprietors, "but they got smaller and smaller until they were no more."
The above information is from the Seafood Leader.
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