Pacific Cod

Also Known As

Cod, Alaska cod, Gray cod, True cod

Quick Facts

Region

Alaska, West Coast

About the Species

U.S. wild-caught Pacific cod is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

Population

The Bering Sea stock is above target population levels. The Gulf of Alaska stock is below target levels, but fishing rate promotes population growth. The Aleutian Islands and Pacific coast stocks have an unknown status.

Fishing Rate

At recommended levels.

Habitat Impacts

Area closures and gear restrictions protect habitat that are affected by some types of fishing gear used to harvest Pacific cod.

Bycatch

Measures restricting the type of gear fishermen may use and when and where they may fish reduce bycatch of other species in the U.S. Pacific cod fisheries.

Population Status

There are four stocks of Pacific cod: Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, and Pacific coast. According to the most recent stock assessments:
- The Bering Sea stock is not overfished (2020 stock assessment) and not subject to overfishing based on 2020 catch data. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
- The Gulf of Alaska stock is not overfished (2020 stock assessment) and not subject to overfishing based on 2020 catch data. Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
- The Aleutian Islands stock is not subject to overfishing based on 2020 catch data, but data are insufficient to determine the population status at this time (2020 stock assessment). Summary stock assessment information can be found on Stock SMART.
- The Pacific coast population of Pacific cod has never been formally assessed, but is not subject to overfishing based on 2018 catch data.
In Alaska, scientists and managers determine the population status of Pacific cod based on estimates of spawning biomass—a measure of the number of females in the population that are able to reproduce.
- Estimated biomass has fluctuated over the past few decades; the stock increased rapidly, peaked in the 1980s, then declined slightly and stabilized.

Appearance

Pacific cod are also known as gray cod because of their color—they’re brown or grayish with dark spots or patterns on the sides and a paler belly.
They have a long chin barbell (a whisker-like organ near the mouth, like on a catfish) and dusky fins with white edges.

Biology

Pacific cod live for 20 years or less.
They can grow up to 6 feet in length.
Females are able to reproduce when they’re 4 or 5 years old, when they are between 1.6 and 1.9 feet long.
Pacific cod spawn from January to May on the continental shelf edge and upper slope in waters 330 to 820 feet deep.
Females can produce more than 1 million eggs when they spawn.
Pacific cod school together and move seasonally from deep outer and upper continental shelf areas (where they spawn) to shallow middle-upper continental shelf feeding grounds.
They feed on clams, worms, crabs, shrimp, and juvenile fish.

Where They Live

Pacific cod are found in the coastal North Pacific Ocean, from the Bering Sea to Southern California in the east and to the Sea of Japan in the west.
They are less common in Central California and are rare in Southern California.

Fishery Management

NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, manage the Pacific cod fishery in Alaska.
Managed under the Gulf of Alaska Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:
- Total allowable catch is allocated by gear type and processing sector in the western and central Gulf of Alaska and by processing sector (90 percent to the inshore sector and 10 percent to the offshore sector) in the eastern Gulf of Alaska.
Managed under the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:
- 10.7 percent of the allowable catch is allocated to the community development quota program, which benefits fishery-dependent communities in western Alaska. The rest is allocated among the various fishing sectors based on gear type, vessel size, and ability to process their catch.
In the Gulf of Alaska, Being Sea, and Aleutian Islands:
- Fishermen must have a permit to participate in these fisheries, and the number of available permits is limited to control the amount of fishing.
- Managers determine how much Pacific cod can be caught and then allocate this catch quota among groups of fishermen. Catch is monitored through record keeping, reporting requirements, and observer monitoring.
- Fishermen must retain all of their Pacific cod catch.
NOAA Fisheries and the Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Pacific cod fishery on the West Coast.
Managed under the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan:
- Pacific cod are rarely available in large numbers to be caught in the groundfish fishery off the West Coast. Managers use recent historical harvest numbers to set precautionary limits on annual catch for this population.
- The West Coast groundfish trawl fishery is managed under a trawl rationalization catch share program.

Harvest

Commercial fishery:
- Pacific cod is the second largest commercial groundfish catch off Alaska and virtually all of the United States.
- In 2019, commercial harvest of Pacific cod totaled more than 463.9 million pounds, and was worth more than $118.7 million, according to the NOAA Fisheries commercial fishing landings database.
- Most Pacific cod comes from the Bering and Barents Seas and the Gulf of Alaska and is harvested by the United States, Canada, Russia, and Korea.
Gear types, habitat impacts, and bycatch:
- Pacific cod are typically harvested along with several different groundfish species with longlines (hook-and-line) and bottom trawl gear.
- Pots (or traps) and jig gear are also used to catch Pacific cod.
- In the Gulf of Alaska the dominant gear has been pots, in the Aleutian Islands trawl gear is predominantly used, and in the Bering Sea longline gear is used most frequently.
- Bottom trawl vessels cause minimal damage when targeting Pacific cod over soft ocean bottoms. Trawls can have negative impacts in areas where Pacific cod are associated with living structural habitats, such as corals and sea whips.
- Some areas are closed to certain gear types to protect sensitive habitat and organisms.
- In Alaska, measures restricting the type of gear fishermen may use and when and where they may fish reduce bycatch of other species in the Alaska Pacific cod fisheries.
- There are limits on the amount of Pacific halibut that can be incidentally caught in trawl and hook-and-line fisheries. Longlines are known to catch seabirds incidentally, but current measures are reducing seabird bycatch.
- On the West Coast, area closures, reduced trip limits, non-retention rules, gear restrictions, and variable catch limits are used to help minimize impacts to overfished rockfish and prevent bycatch.
Recreational fishery:
- Recreational fishing for Pacific cod in Alaska is minor compared to commercial fishing and mainly takes place in state waters (within 3 miles of shore). Recreational fishermen follow state regulations.