lingcod

n., pl., lingcod, or -cods.
A large, northern Pacific food fish (Ophiodon elongatus) related to the greenling.

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Ophiodon elongatus

FAMILY

Hexagrammidae

TAXONOMY

Ophiodon elongatus Girard, 1854, San Francisco, California, United States. Sometimes placed in family Ophiodontidae.

OTHER COMMON NAMES

English: Cultus cod, ling.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

Lingcod are large, up to 5 ft (1.5 m) in length and 100 lb (45 kg) weight (males smaller), and have a large mouth extending behind the eyes. The mouth has prominent teeth. The spiny and soft dorsal fins are joined to form one long, moderately notched dorsal fin running the entire length of the body behind the head, and the tail fin is squared, not forked. The color is brown, rarely blue-green, with a staggered array of black blotches along the body midline and top.

DISTRIBUTION

From Ensenada, Mexico (Baja California), to the Alaska Peninsula (Shumigan Islands).

HABITAT

Lingcod spawn on rocky reefs along the shoreline, usually at depths of about 33–99 ft (10–30 m), but spawning has been observed in the intertidal and by submarine at much greater depths. The females migrate onto sand and mud bottoms at greater depths up to 330 ft or more (100 m), except when they return inshore for spawning, whereas males tend to remain all year on the spawning reefs. Lingcod will hide in crevices. Young lingcod tend to be more generally distributed near the shoreline, avoiding areas occupied by adults. Recently settled lingcod have been collected in eelgrass beds and have been seen from a submarine on flat bottom at the base of a cliff over 360 ft (110 m) deep.

BEHAVIOR

Aside from male territoriality, female seasonal migrations, and rapacious predatory behavior, lingcod tend to be sedentary ambush predators. They rest near rocks and wait for prey to swim near. During salmon migrations, however, lingcod have been observed predating at the surface over great depths, so relative abundance and position of prey affect behavior.

The life history of lingcod relates closely to that of Pacific herring. Larval lingcod settle from the plankton at the time during spring when herring larvae are becoming silver juveniles. Young lingcod that have not settled permanently from a swimming habit search in school formation during the twilight hours of dawn and dusk, and young herring are their favorite prey.

FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET

Although lingcod will eat invertebrates such as crabs, shrimps, and octopi, they mainly feed on other fishes, including younger lingcod. A lingcod engulfs another fish head-first. The throat rapidly opens while the mouth engulfs the prey, so that a fish about two-thirds the length of the lingcod will be swallowed immediately into the entire length of the stomach, with only the tail protruding from the mouth. During years of abundant prey, growth is rapid. After two years lingcod of both sexes tend to reach about 1.5 ft (46 cm) in length, after which males grow more slowly than females, perhaps owing to the seasonal feeding migration that only females undertake.

REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY

Males become jet black and fight over territory during winter, prior to arrival of ripening females. Males will successively spawn with different females, guarding up to three egg masses at a time. Males are capable of spawning at two years of age, and females at three, but most females do not lay eggs until they are four. If larger females are not abundant, then females tend to mature and spawn a very small egg mass at three years of age. In British Columbia, peak abundance of guarded egg masses is during February, although spawning can occur from December through April. Spawning occurs later in more northerly latitudes. Older females of 10–15 years of age can spawn a half million eggs, and they spawn earlier and deeper than the younger fish. Larvae spawned by the largest females tend to be slightly larger than larvae of small females, which could confer advantage under certain feeding conditions in the plankton. Thus, a population with a full demographic spread from young to old fish will have greater chances of survival of young under a variety of environmental conditions.

CONSERVATION STATUS

Not listed by the IUCN. Lingcod have been extremely depleted since the 1980s in Puget Sound, and since the 1990s in the Strait of Georgia. Outer coast populations have become overfished in more recent years. It has been demonstrated mathematically that even the earliest hand-line fisheries prior to World War II led to significant reduction in lingcod biomass in inland seas around Vancouver and Seattle. More efficient otter trawls in the 1940s greatly increased levels of landings, which in British Columbia exceeded eight million pounds per year (over 3,700 metric tons). Landings in the Strait of Georgia were negligible when the commercial fishery closed in 1990, but since then it has become evident that sport fishing alone can prevent population recovery near metropolitan areas. Lingcod are of interest for management strategies that include protection within sanctuaries (marine protected areas).

SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS

The common name "cultus" is a Coast Salish term meaning "cheap," which indicates that original levels of abundance ensured that lingcod could be caught for use as food when preferred species like halibut became less available. As mentioned, lingcod has always been valued as a fresh fish. Aquaculture is possible but not yet economical. Appreciation of the value of lingcod as a sport species tends to increase as the availability of this and other groundfish species declines in a given area.

Found on the North American Pacific coast, lingcod is not really a cod but a greenling. This fish won't win any beauty contests, but its mildly sweet flavor and firm, lowfat texture makes up for its appearance. Lingcod ranges from 3 to 20 pounds and is available whole or as steaks or fillets. It can be prepared in almost any manner including baking, broiling, frying or grilling. Lingcod also does nicely in soups and stews. See also fish.

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