(Gadus morhua), a fish of the family Gadidae. The cod has three dorsal fins and two anal fins. The coloring varies from greenish olive to brown, with tiny yellow-brown spots; the belly is white. The body measures up to 1.8 m in length and weighs up to 40 kg. Cod fished commercially usually measure 40–80 cm in length and weigh up to 10 kg; they are fished from the age of 3 to 10. They are distributed in temperate waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The cod has numerous subspecies, including the Atlantic cod, which has a number of varieties, and the White Sea and Baltic cod.

The Atlantic cod spawns 500,000 to 60 million pelagic eggs measuring 1.2–1.8 mm in diameter. The Baltic cod attains sexual maturity in two to three years, and the Atlantic cod in five to nine years. Spawning usually occurs near the shore. The larvae are pelagic; the young stay near the shore, where they feed on zoo-plankton, and later on bottom-dwelling invertebrates. The adult cod is a predator that feeds on herring, capelin, sand launces, and other fishes, as well as crustaceans. Feeding and spawning migrations for distances up to 2,000 km have been recorded for the Atlantic cod.

Cod is one of the most important food fishes. The cod’s liver is rich in an oil (up to 57 percent) from which vitamins A and D are obtained.