Completely Random (Yet Fun) Facts about the Atlantic Cod

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Figure 8: Pictures of the Golden Cod in the Massachussetts State House
  • The Atlantic Cod has been referred to as the “sacred cod” for a few reasons. First, according to New England folklore, the cod was the fish which Jesus multiplied to feed the crowds of people. The other reason concerns the difference in lateral line colors between the cod and the haddock. Jesus was thought to have thrown the cod into the sea with his hands, leaving a white lateral line on the fish, whereas the haddock was thought to be cast into the sea by Satan, who left his black mark on the lateral line of the fish. (2)

  • There have been historical accounts of cod as large as men. In 1838, a 180-pound fish was caught off George’s Banks and in 1895, a six-foot cod weighing 211 pounds was caught off the coast of Massachusetts. (2)

  • Many of the first american coins issued from 1776 to 1778 had a codfish on them. (2)

  • Men from the cod aristocracy in the 18th and 19th centuries began to decorate their mansions with insignias of the cod. (2)

  • The revolutionary war did not end in 1778 when there were peace talks in Paris because John Adams refused to give up the American fishermen’s fishing rights to the Grand Banks. (2)

  • When the Massachusetts Statehouse was moved in 1895, the large, famous, golden cod hanging inside the old building was ceremoniously lowered, wrapped in an American flag, and then carried by military officers to the new building. Once it arrived, the people within the new Statehouse gave a 15 minute long standing ovation for the fish. (2)

  • In the early “heyday” of cod fishing in the New World, more cod was eaten in Europe than in New England. (25)

  • The cod produces a protein similar to antifreeze so that the fish may survive the freezing temperatures found in the North Atlantic. Once a cod is hauled up from the freezing waters, its meat will instantly crystallize as the fish no longer produces the protein. (2)

  • Cod can travel up to 200 miles to reach breeding grounds. (26)

  • Within the first ten weeks of the juvenile cod’s life, its body weight increases by a rate of forty. (25)

  • Cod offer little to no “fight” in recreational fishing and are very easy to pull up from the depths. (25)

  • Humans are the only natural predators to adult cod. (26)