Atlantic cod Gadus morhua in the Mediterranean: A surprising immigrant

• Published in: Marine Ecology Progress Series
• Main Authors: Morey, Gabriel, Morales-Nin, Beatriz, Riera, Francisco, Grau, Amàlia, Geffen, Audrey J., Pérez-Mayol, Silvia, Chang, M.-Y., Grau, Antoni Maria
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Inter Research 2012
• Subjects: Gadus morhua; Migration; Mediterranean; Otolith analysis; atlantic cod
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/84121; https://doi.org/10.3354/meps09936

A female cod Gadus morhua L. 87.1 cm total length was captured off Mallorca (Balearic Islands, NW Mediterranean) in June 2009 by a bottom trawler between 63 and 110 m depth. This is the first documented occurrence of the species in the Mediterranean. The fish was mature, with a very low hepatosomatic index and atretric gonads. Age assigned from the otoliths was 4 yr. The otolith chemical composition indicated that this fish entered the Mediterranean late in its first year of life. © Inter-Research 2012. Peer Reviewed