Atlantic cod

The ultra-cold, ice-covered Arctic Ocean has kept fish species from the Atlantic and Pacific separate for more than a million years — but global warming is changing that.

The Atlantic Cod (Gadus morhua) is a benthopelagic fish that is endemic to the Atlantic ocean. These fish are mostly bottom-feeders and eat mostly smaller fish, shrimp, crabs, worms, and mussels. They can grow to 5 feet long and weigh up to 77 lbs. These fish can live for a long time, reaching up to 20 years in the wild. They spawn on the sea bottom, and can lay up to 3 to 9 million eggs. They are capable of reproducing at just 2 to 3 years old, when they're only a foot long. Its habitat…

The cod genome lacks a set of genes that were thought to be indispensable for immunity against bacteria and other parasites

Even painful cuts to the fishery have failed to slow this rapid decline, surprising both fishers and fisheries managers. Now a report published this week in the journal Science links the cod collapse directly to rapid warming of ocean waters.

Cod fish

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The work could shed light on whether southern fish will be able to understand their northern counterparts if they are forced to seek out the colder waters they prefer because of climate change.

Lemony Baked Atlantic Cod