Atlantic Cod

What you're looking at

The Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) is the headline UK gadoid — heavy-shouldered, mottled olive-brown to bronze, with three distinct dorsal fins and a small fleshy barbel under the chin. Found from the shore in winter through to deep wrecks in summer, around the entire UK coastline.

Key features

• Dorsal fins: Three separate dorsal fins along the back — count them, it's the gadoid family signature.
• Chin barbel: A single short, fleshy whisker hanging from the lower jaw. Cod always have one; pollack and coalfish do not (or have only a trace).
• Lateral line: Pale, almost white, running in a gentle curve from gill cover to tail wrist.
• Mouth: Upper jaw projects slightly beyond the lower — opposite to pollack.
• Markings: Olive-brown to coppery flanks with abundant darker speckles. Belly pale.
• Size: Shore "codling" 1–3 kg, double-figure boat cod common over wrecks; UK record over 26 kg.

Confusion species

• Pollack: Three dorsals like cod, but lower jaw projects, no chin barbel, dark sharply-curved lateral line, more sleek/streamlined body.
• Coalfish (saithe): Three dorsals, lower jaw projects, very pale almost-straight lateral line, no real barbel — darker overall colouring.
• Haddock: Pinkish-grey, dark lateral line (opposite of cod), prominent black "thumbprint" above the pectoral fin. Mostly a boat fish.
• Whiting: Much smaller, slender, no chin barbel, dark spot at base of pectoral fin.

Where to find them

Mixed and rough ground, sandbanks, wrecks, and feature-rich beaches. The classic UK shore cod season is October through February, particularly in the North East, East Anglia and the South Coast. Boat cod fishing centres on wrecks and offshore banks from spring onward. They feed best on a flooding tide in coloured water.