Cods for sale Do we know what we are buying?

DNA Barcodes ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Lambarri ◽  
Héctor Espinosa ◽  
Armando Martínez ◽  
Ariana Hernández
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
The United States ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Coi Gene ◽  
High Price ◽  
Blue Shark ◽  
Salted Fish ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Near Threatened

AbstractThe Atlantic Cod Gadus morhua is fished in Northern Atlantic and Arctic waters. In Mexico cod is imported from Norway and the United States, and is traditionally eaten at Christmas and Easter. In Mexico City several stores sell dry-salted cod, but due to the high price of the imported Atlantic Cod, other fish species are sold. In this project we examined six samples of dried-salted fish from different stores and used DNA barcoding of the COI gene to corroborate the identity of the product sold as Atlantic Cod. Barcoding revealed that only two of the six samples (33%) were Atlantic cod, with two being Ling, one Alaska Pollock, and one Blue Shark. The high rate of mislabeling (67%) is a major concern. It is especially worrying that Blue Shark is being sold as Atlantic cod, since the Blue Shark is listed as a near-threatened species by the IUCN. We must be aware of the damages that overexploitation and uninformed consumption cause to cod and shark populations. There needs to be stricter policing of seafood product labeling in México.

Isolation or metapopulation: whence and whither the Smith Sound cod?

2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (1) ◽  
pp. 152-169 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Rose ◽  
R. John Nelson ◽  
Luiz G.S. Mello
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Spawning Aggregation ◽  
Genetic Isolation ◽  
Coastal Fisheries ◽  
Data History ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
First Maturity ◽  
Year 2000

In April 1995, a spawning aggregation of “northern” Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) (10 000 t) appeared in Smith Sound, Newfoundland, growing to 26 000 t by year 2000. The origin of the founder year classes (primarily the 1990 and 1992 year classes) and potential for expansion remains controversial, with genetic isolation used to justify reopenings of coastal fisheries. We investigated the origin using historical, demographic, and genetic data. History provided no evidence of large aggregations before 1995. Demographics in the early 1990s suggested few spawners in Smith Sound, but many in the adjacent Bonavista Corridor. The strong 1990 year class was not evident until 1995 and the strong 1992 year class until 1997 (both age 5 and first maturity). Genetic study of six microsatellite loci from 791 cod from overwintering aggregations in Smith Sound and offshore regions indicated little to no differentiation (FST) among southern groups (Smith Sound, Bonavista Corridor, Halibut Channel). These results provide a perspective that these groups comprise a metapopulation and that the Smith Sound aggregation arose not from self-recruitment but immigration. By 2009, the aggregation had dispersed, with large concurrent increases in the Bonavista Corridor.

Survival of Northern Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Eggs and Larvae when Exposed to Ice and Low Temperature

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (12) ◽  
pp. 2588-2595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul F. Valerio ◽  
Sally V. Goddard ◽  
Ming H. Kao ◽  
Garth L. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Low Temperature ◽  
Newfoundland And Labrador ◽  
Direct Contact ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Ice Crystals ◽  
Freeze Resistance ◽  
Northern Cod ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Eggs And Larvae

Freeze resistance of eggs and larvae of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) from the northern cod stock was investigated to determine whether ice contact could affect survival during the spring spawning season off Newfoundland. Egg and larval homogenates did not appear to contain antifreeze proteins (mean freezing points −0.78 and −0.88 °C, respectively). However, cod eggs did not freeze at −1.8 °C in icy aerated seawater, could be undercooled to −4.0 °C in ice, and froze at temperatures between −4.1 and −1 7 °C; freeze resistance depended on the integrity of the chorion. Larvae withstood undercooling to −1.8 °C, provided they were not brought into direct contact with ice crystals, if directly touched with ice, larvae froze at −1.36 °C (feeding stage) or −1.34 °C (yolk-sac), approximately 0.5 °C lower than would be expected from the freezing temperatures of their body fluids. The nature of their external epithelium and delayed development of sensitive gill structures below 0 °C may contribute to larval freeze resistance. Cod eggs and larvae are found in spring off Newfoundland and Labrador, when sea temperatures can be as low as −1.8 °C and ice cover extensive. While cod eggs are remarkably freeze resistant, such environmental conditions may cause freezing mortalities in larval cod.

Temporal changes in harvesting dynamics of Canadian inshore fisheries for northern Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua

2000 ◽  
Vol 57 (4) ◽  
pp. 805-814 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey A Hutchings ◽  
Mark Ferguson
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Fishing Effort ◽  
Temporal Changes ◽  
Catch Rate ◽  
Fish Stock ◽  
Small Fish ◽  
Trap Design ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Unreported Catches

We quantified temporal changes in catch rate, fishing effort, and catch misreporting for two sectors of the fixed-gear fishery for Newfoundland's northern Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua, from 1980 to 1991, the year preceding the stock's commercial fishing moratorium. Over the 12-year period, fishermen reported catch rate declines of 40 and 75% in the trap and gillnet fisheries, respectively, associated with significant increases in nominal fishing effort. Additional changes to effort included smaller gillnet and trap mesh sizes, larger traps, longer soak times, and modifications to trap design to increase catch retention probabilities. Compared with the early 1980s, unreported catches among inshore fishermen may have trebled by the late 1980s and early 1990s due to longer gillnet soak times, increased gear selectivity for small fish, and declining availability of fish of marketable size. These patterns in harvesting dynamics are consistent with the hypothesis that the decline of northern cod was gradual and that increased rates of catch misreporting contributed to increases in fishing mortality. The concomitants of declining fixed-gear catch rate, increasing quantitative and qualitative fishing effort, increased selectivity for smaller fish, and increasing levels of unreported catches may represent general correlates of imminent fish stock collapses.

Outcome of an inshore spawning event by northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) at a low stock level

1998 ◽  
Vol 55 (10) ◽  
pp. 2283-2291 ◽  
Author(s):  
R K Smedbol ◽  
D C Schneider ◽  
J S Wroblewski ◽  
D A Methven
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Direct Evidence ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Spawning Aggregation ◽  
Stock Level ◽  
Egg Density ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Northeast Coast ◽  
Trinity Bay

A large spawning aggregation of northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) was discovered in a fjord of Trinity Bay, Newfoundland, in April 1995, 3 years after the collapse of this stock and 1 year after the last offshore spawning aggregation was recorded. We hypothesized that spawning by this aggregation would increase the abundance/density of eggs and settled 0-group juveniles above the level of spawning in the bay during recent years. Data from 1995 were compared with ichthyoplankton and postsettlement juvenile surveys conducted in recent years. Egg density was significantly higher in 1995 than the pooled average of two recent years (1991 and 1993). The hypothesized increase in numbers of postsettlement age 0 fish was tested at three different spatial scales: the entire northeast coast of Newfoundland, individual bays, and areas within Trinity Bay. There was no detectable increase in catches of settled age 0 juveniles at any spatial scale. Consequently, while this large spawning aggregation produced locally high egg concentrations, it did not lead to a detectable increase in abundance of newly settled age 0 juveniles in coastal nursery areas. This study did not provide any direct evidence for an increase in recruitment in the inshore region due to the spawning output of locally abundant spawners in Trinity Bay.

Was an increase in natural mortality responsible for the collapse off northern cod?

1995 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1274-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ransom A. Myers ◽  
Noel G. Cadigan
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Natural Mortality ◽  
Correlated Errors ◽  
Estimation Errors ◽  
Research Survey ◽  
Northern Cod ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Invalid Inference ◽  
Trawl Surveys

The collapse of the northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) fishery off southern Labrador and to the northern Grand Bank of Newfoundland, once the largest cod fishery in the world, was a social and economic disaster for the region. An analysis of traditional catch-at-age data in conjunction with research surveys, which assumed that research survey estimation errors of abundance by age and year were independent, led assessment biologists to the conclusion that the collapse was caused by an increase in natural mortality in the first half of 1991. We constructed a statistical model to test this hypothesis. The results do not support the hypothesis. There is ambiguous evidence that natural mortality has increased since 1991; however, these results are found only in a model that has extraordinary patterns in the residuals. Our analysis suggests that even if natural mortality has been higher in recent years (as estimated using a model with correlated errors for research surveys), overfishing was sufficiently high to cause a collapse of this population. We also demonstrate that the usual assumption that estimation errors from research trawl surveys are independent is not valid, and can lead to invalid inference and unreasonable estimates of abundance.

Antifreeze Production, Freeze Resistance, and Overwintering of Juvenile Northern Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua)

1992 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 516-522 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally V. Goddard ◽  
Ming H. Kao ◽  
Garth L. Fletcher
Keyword(s):  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
Fish Length ◽  
Antifreeze Glycoproteins ◽  
Freeze Resistance ◽  
Ambient Temperatures ◽  
Temperature Regimes ◽  
Northern Atlantic ◽  
Freezing Temperatures ◽  
Cycling Temperature

Four size groups of northern Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) (juveniles < 15, 15–25, and 26–40 cm and adults > 50 cm) were investigated over a winter cycle for their ability to increase freeze resistance by producing plasma antifreeze glycoproteins. All juveniles had significantly higher plasma antifreeze levels than adults during the winter (January–March) under similar conditions of cycling temperature and ambient photoperiod. Highest winter plasma antifreeze levels and lowest plasma freezing temperatures were consistently found in the 15–25 cm group. Fish length and plasma antifreeze levels were inversely related from January to April, with the exception of the 0 + cod. All juvenile groups developed considerable freeze protection early in the winter cycle before the onset of freezing temperatures. However, the adults were not significantly protected until the end of January, when ambient temperatures had fallen below 0 °C. The 15–25 cm cod were held in three cycling temperature regimes. Induction temperatures for antifreeze production in this size group appeared to be between 2 and 3 °C, as compared with between 1 and 0 °C for the adults. We suggest that these patterns of antifreeze production may have direct bearing on habitat selection and overwintering behaviour of the northern Atlantic cod at different stages of development.

scholarly journals Finny Merchandise: The Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) Trade in Gold Rush–Era San Francisco, California

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyler Conrad ◽  
Upuli DeSilva ◽  
Brittany Bingham ◽  
Brian Kemp ◽  
Kenneth W. Gobalet ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
San Francisco ◽  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Gadus Morhua ◽  
East Coast ◽  
Atlantic Cod ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gold Rush ◽  
Pacific Cod ◽  
Deep Waters

During California’s Gold Rush of 1849–1855, thousands of miners rushed to San Francisco, Sacramento, and elsewhere throughout northern California, creating a significant demand for food. Here we investigate the role of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) and Pacific cod (G. macrocephalus) during the Gold Rush era using historical records, ancient DNA, and vertebral morphology in the cod assemblage recovered from Thompson’s Cove (CA-SFR-186H), a Gold Rush–era site in San Francisco. From the 18 cod bones recovered from Thompson’s Cove, our analysis of five specimens for ancient DNA indicates that Atlantic cod were imported during the 1850s, likely as a (largely) deboned, dried and salted product from the East Coast of the United States. Curiously, while locally available in very deep waters off the California coast, Pacific cod were minimally fished during the 1850s and became abundantly available in the 1860s after an Alaska-based fishery developed.

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