FISHES OF THE GULF OF MAINE 



183 



As few as 12 rays have occasionally been re- 

 corded for the first dorsal, 16 for the second, 17 

 for the third, 17 for the first anal and 16 for the 

 second. The pectoral fins, set high up on the 

 sides, reach back as far as the rear end of the first 

 dorsal. The ventral fins are nearly as long as the 

 pectorals in young cod but are shorter, relatively 

 in large fish, with the second ray extending beyond 

 the general outline as a filament for a distance 

 almost one-fourth as long as the entire fin. Both 

 the head and the body are clothed with small 

 scales. 



Young cod are easily distinguished from large 

 tomcod by their relatively broad ventral fins with 

 slender filaments, by the location of the first dorsal 

 fin, and by their larger eyes, as explained in the 

 description of that species (p. 196). The pale lat- 

 eral line readily distinguishes the cod from the 

 haddock; and the square-tipped tail, projecting 

 upper jaw, and spotted color pattern of a cod 

 give it an aspect quite different from that of the 

 pollock. 



Color. — Cod vary so widely in color that sundry 

 of its color phases have been named, but all of 

 them fall into two main groups, the gray-green 

 and the red. The back and upper sides of the 

 former range from almost black through dark 

 sooty or brownish gray, olive gray, olive brown, 

 sepia brown, mouse gray, ashy gray, clay colored, 

 and greenish to pale pearly (darker on the back 

 than on the sides) ; the fins are of the general body 

 tint, and the belly is whitish, usually tinged with 

 the general ground color. The red or "rock" cod 

 vary from dull reddish brown to orange or brick 

 red, with white belly tinged with reddish, and 

 with red, olive, or gray fins. In most cod the 

 upper surface of the body, the sides of the head, 

 and the fins and tail (but not the nose or belly) 

 are thickly speckled with small, round, vague- 

 edged spots. On the "gray" fish these are of a 

 brownish or yellowish cast, darker than the gen- 

 eral body color, while they are usually reddish 

 brown or sometimes yellowish on the "red" fish. 

 Occasionally one sees a spotless cod, but these are 

 unusual. The lateral line is invariably paler than 

 the general body tint, pearly gray or reddish ac- 

 cording to the hue of the particular fish in ques- 

 tion, and it stands out against the darker sides. 



Size. — Cod sometimes grow to a tremendous 

 size. A huge one of 21 1 % pounds and more than 6 

 feet long, was caught on a long line off the Massa- 



chusetts coast in May 1895; 62 one that weighed 

 138 pounds dressed (hence must have weighed 180 

 pounds or more alive) was brought in from Georges 

 Bank in 1838; and Goode M mentions several 

 others of 100 to 160 pounds as caught off Massa- 

 chusetts. But cod of a hundred pounds are 

 exceptional, the largest New England cod of 

 which we have heard recently being one of 90 

 pounds, that was taken off the coast of Maine 

 early in July 1922. Even a 75-pound fish is a 

 rarity, but 50 to 60 pounders are not unusual. 

 The so-called "large" fish that are caught near 

 shore run about 35 pounds; and "large" ones taken 

 on Georges Bank about 25 pounds. But the shore 

 fish, large and small together, average only be- 

 tween 6 and 12 pounds in weight. 



The relationship between length and weight is 

 usually about as follows for fish caught on the in- 

 shore grounds between Cape Ann and Portland, 

 though this varies with the condition of the fish 

 and with their state of sexual development. 64 



A 99%-pound fish recorded by Earll was 62 

 inches long, and one of 100 pounds caught off 

 Wood Island, Maine, on April 9, 1883, measured 

 65 inches, its head 17% inches. Any fish of 5% to 6 

 feet will weigh 100 pounds or more. 



Habits. — Cod in one place or another range from 

 the surface down to 250 fathoms at least. 



During the first year after the young cod take to 

 bottom (p. 186) many of them five in very shoal 

 water, even along the littoral zone, and many 

 young fry have been taken at Gloucester and else- 

 where along the shores of New England, while 



u Jordan and Evermann, American Food and Game Fishes. 1902, p. 514. 



•» Fish Ind. U. 8.. Sec. 1,1884, p. 220. 



M Based chiefly on measurements given by Earll (Kept. XJ. 3. Comm. Fish. 

 [1878|, 1880, p. 734), and on a large series of cod measured fresh from the nets by 

 Welsh during the spring of 1913. 



