Atlantic Cod

Habitat Distribution

• Both sides of the North Atlantic: in the west from Greenland south to the mid-Atlantic coast; in the east from the Bay of Biscay north through the North Sea, around Iceland, and into the Barents Sea and Baltic — where distinct western and eastern stocks are managed separately.
• Benthopelagic by nature, meaning cod live near the bottom but will move up in the water column to chase bait; they also tolerate brackish water and turn up in estuaries at the edges of their range.
• Depth range runs from the surf zone down to about 600 meters (roughly 2,000 feet), though most fish are taken between 150 and 200 meters; juveniles use shallower, complex habitats — seagrass beds, gravel, boulders — while adults push into deeper, colder water as they grow.

Specific Spots

• Mixed sand, rock, and shell bottom holds the invertebrates and small fish cod feed on — smooth mud flats rarely produce; the rougher and more varied the bottom, the better.
• Wrecks and hard-bottom ledges on the continental shelf act as natural aggregation points because current sweeping across structure concentrates bait; when the tide is running, position the boat so your jig swings through the downstream edge of the structure.
• In Norwegian and northern European waters, cod move into shallower coastal zones in late winter and early spring to spawn — this seasonal inshore push puts fish within reach of smaller boats that can't work the deep banks.