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Cod » Atlantic cod

	Eco-Worst Choice
	Avoid or eat infrequently until improvements are made
	Rating Trend: Although fishing pressure is still high, Gulf of Maine cod is no longer overfished.

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Recommendations
Eco-Best AK cod caught by longline Pacific halibut	Eco-OK Alaska pollock (U.S.)

Recommendations

Details About Atlantic cod

a.k.a. Gadus morhua, rock cod, codling, scrod cod

Health Details

This is an Eco-Worst choice. If you decide to eat it, we recommend the following due to contaminant levels:

Adults and children could eat 4 or more meals per month without risking exposure

More about seafood and health »

Eco Details

Heavily fished for the last 50 years, U.S. and Canadian cod stocks remain extremely depleted, and European populations have declined as well.
Poor management and unreported catches threaten Atlantic cod's recovery.
Atlantic cod are caught with bottom trawls, which damage bottom habitat and result in considerable bycatch of other groundfish species (such as halibut and flounder).
Look for cod that has been caught by hook-and-line.

Nutritional Information

Serving = 100 g of raw edible food, wild species.

	Amount per serving
Calories	82 g
Total Fat	0.67 g
Total Protein	17.8 g
Omega-3	0.18 g
Cholesterol	43 mg
Sodium	54 mg

Source:

More About Atlantic cod

Once super-abundant, the Atlantic cod was an important source of food for North American colonists. This cold-water dweller with its characteristic goatee or chin barbel lives in a variety of habitats, ranging from shoreline to deep ocean shelf. Cod grow up to 6 feet (1.8 meters) in length and can live up to 25 years.

Commercial Sources

Atlantic cod are found in the North Atlantic Ocean. In the eastern Atlantic, they occur from the Barents Sea in northern Europe to the Bay of Biscay off France, and around Iceland. In the western Atlantic, they are distributed from Greenland to Cape Hatteras in North Carolina.

The main sources of Atlantic cod are Norway, Iceland and the Russian Federation. Atlantic cod sold in the U.S. market are primarily from Iceland, Canada and Norway.

Capture Methods

Atlantic cod come from marine fisheries, not fish farms. They are primarily caught with bottom trawls. Additional types of fishing gear include gillnets, seines, hooks-and-lines, traps and pound nets.

This guide is produced in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

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