Greenland Cod Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Stocky, moderately compressed body with a mottled olive-brown to grey-green pattern
• Prominent single chin barbel
• Pale, slightly curved lateral line
• Three dorsal fins and two anal fins, giving a segmented profile along the back
• Rounded rather than sharply forked tail fin
• Typically 30-60 cm long, with a fairly large head and blunt snout

Common look-alikes

• Atlantic cod: more strongly forked tail and generally found in a different, more southerly range along the same coasts
• Pacific cod: nearly identical in shape and pattern; the two are closely related, separated mainly by ocean basin, with Pacific cod confined to the North Pacific
• Saffron cod: smaller and more slender, with a less pronounced barbel

Where you'll see one

Greenland cod occupies cold, shallow coastal waters of the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, and adjacent northwest Atlantic regions, often around rocky shorelines, kelp beds, and estuaries rather than deep offshore grounds, staying close inshore year-round and tolerating a wide range of salinity.