Cods & Allies

Cod

Cods - family Gadidae - are one of the most commercially important families of fish in the sea. As such, they have been fished to the brink of disaster. The book above is a fascinating study of the historical relationship between western civilization and the codfish.

The only freshwater representative of the cod family is the Burbot.


Atlantic Cod
Atlantic Cod
Tomcod
Atlantic Tomcod

Cods are easily identified: they all have three separate soft-rayed dorsal fins and two separate soft-rayed anal fins. They also have a sensory barbel on the chin, although in some species this is so reduced as to be virtually absent.


Red Hake (Ling)
Red Hake ( Ling )
Silver Hake (Whiting)
Silver Hake ( Whiting )

Our two commonest "Hakes" differ from cods above in having the three dorsal and two anal fins merged into two and one, respectively. The Red Hake or Ling Urophycis chuss is easily identified by its pelvic fins, which are formed into long white split streamers. It grows to 20" and 6 lbs. Ling are very common on just about all dive sites.


Haddock
Haddock
Pollock
Pollock

These two codfishes have similar-sounding names, looks, and habits. Both are much more likely to be found schooling in open water around the upper reaches of offshore wrecks and reefs than other bottom-hugging cod types.


Cusk Eel
Cusk
Cusk Eel
Cusk Eel

These fishes take the fin-merging of the Hakes one step further, merging all the unpaired fins and the tail into a single continuous margin. You can find tiny inch-long baby Cusk Brosme brosme under rocks and debris. Adults are found in coastal waters, in depths 60 ft and below, and grow to 39" and 27 lbs.


leech

Macrobdella spp.

Size: to 10"

Habitat: aquatic

Notes: It's not a nice thought, but there are leeches in our freshwaters, and in marine habitats as well. The species shown is one of the largest and most attractive, if you can say such a thing. It feeds exclusively on vertebrate blood - a good reason to wear a wetsuit, although I've never encountered one. Leeches are actually worms, not insects, but ...

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