Lingcod

Blue cod, Bluefish, Bacalao, Buffalo, Buffalo cod, Card, cod, Codfish, Cultus, Cultus cod, Dragonfish, Green cod, Greenling, Greenlinger, Kin mustu (Japan), Leopard cod, Ling, Lingcod, Pacific cultus, Skilfish, Steamer cod, Testoni, White cod

Lingcod vary in color from grey-brown to green and bluish, with darker spotting and mottling on upper parts. They are
considered common in their range, from west of the Shumagin Islands in the Gulf of Alaska southeastward to Pt. San Carlos, Baja California in Mexico.

The preferred habitat for lingcod varies depending on age and gender of the fish. Larvae are pelagic both nearshore and offshore. When 8-10 cm long (3 months), juveniles begin to settle in sand, gravel and eelgrass in bays, estuaries and shallow soft bottoms, then at ages one to two years, move to rocky bottom areas. Adults are often found on rocky bottom substrate from the intertidal zone to more than 300 m depth on the continental shelf, but typically prefer 0 to 70 m depth.

Life history characteristics differ slightly between male and female lingcod and with geographic location. In general lingcod exhibit high reproductive output and juveniles are relatively fast-growing. Their overall growth rate and longevity, however, leaves them “moderately” vulnerable to fishing pressure.

There has been a long-term decrease in stock abundance but a short-term increase. There is some uncertainty for the southern US stock, but overall uncertainty is low. The northern stock is not considered overfished but the southern stock has lower abundance and higher recreational annual catch totals. Recent increases show that that stocks are rebuilding coast-wide, thus both US stocks are ranked as “moderate/rebuilding”.

Half of the fishery in the US and a small proportion in Canada utilises hook-and-line gear which results in much less bycatch than trawling and is considered of “low” conservation concern. In Alaska, the majority of the directed commercial harvest for lingcod occurs in the southeast where trawling is very limited. The relative lack of trawling and the selectivity of the dinglebar/hook and line fishery results in a rank of “minimal” bycatch.

Gear used in the hook-and-line fishery rarely comes into contact with the ocean floor and so is considered of “low” conservation concern.

Management of the US west coast fishery is committed to robust and frequent stock assessments that utilize fishery-dependent and independent data. Management’s recent regulations for the commercial lingcod fishery have been effective in that the stocks are now rebuilding, but there is still concern over recreational catches.

There is substantial uncertainty in the Canadian lingcod stock status as of 2002 and there is no bycatch management in place. Responsible fishing practises are being promoted through education and individual quotas for trawlers.

Management in a state as large as Alaska is inherently difficult. In 2000, substantial and warranted actions were taken to reduce the harvest in southeast Alaska. The estimated harvest still exceeded allocations for some areas in 2000 and 2001, but recent management efforts have been more successful. Recent initial indications of stabilization in the fishery are promising. Overall, management of the lingcod fisheries in all three areas are considered “moderately effective”.

What gear type was used to catch this lingcod?

Contaminant levels do not warrant a consumption advisory.

No.