Editing Pacific cod (section)

{{Short description|Species of fish}}
{{Speciesbox
| fossil_range = {{Fossil range|Pleistocene |recent}}<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Harington |first1=C.R |title=A Late Pleistocene Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus) from Courtenay, British Columbia: its death, associated biota, and paleoenvironment |journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences |date=2004 |volume=41 |issue=11 |pages=1285–1297 |doi=10.1139/e04-061 |bibcode=2004CaJES..41.1285H |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237169237}}</ref>
| name = Pacific cod
| image = Gadus macrocephalus.png
| image_caption =
| taxon = Gadus macrocephalus
| authority = [[Wilhelm Gottlieb Tilesius von Tilenau|Tilesius]], 1810
| synonyms = *''Gadus pygmaeus'' <small>[[Peter Simon Pallas|Pallas]], 1814</small> 
*''Gadus ogac'' <small>[[John Richardson (naturalist)|Richardson]], 1836</small> 
*''Gadus ovak'' <small>[[Johan Reinhardt|Reinhardt]], 1837</small> 
*''Gadus ogat'' <small>[[Henrik Nikolai Krøyer|Krøyer]], 1847</small> 
*''Gadus auratus'' <small>[[Edward Drinker Cope|Cope]], 1873</small> 
*''Gadus brandtii'' <small>[[Franz Martin Hilgendorf|Hilgendorf]], 1875</small> 
| synonyms_ref = <ref name = FB>{{FishBase|Gadus|macrocephalus|month=February|year=2018}}</ref>
}}

The '''Pacific cod''' ('''''Gadus macrocephalus''')'' is a species of [[Actinopterygii|ray-finned fish]] in the [[Family (biology)|family]] [[Gadidae]]. It is a bottom-dwelling fish found in the northern [[Pacific Ocean]], mainly on the [[continental shelf]] and [[Continental margin|upper slopes]], to depths of about {{convert|900|m|ft|-2|abbr=on}}. It can grow to a length of a meter or so and is found in large [[Shoaling and schooling|schools]]. They feed on clams, worms, crabs, shrimp, and juvenile fish.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fisheries |first=NOAA |date=2024-09-06 |title=Pacific Cod {{!}} NOAA Fisheries |url=https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/pacific-cod#:~:text=Pacific%20cod%20school%20together%20and,,%20shrimp,%20and%20juvenile%20fish. |access-date=2024-12-03 |website=NOAA |language=en}}</ref> It is an important [[Commercial fishing|commercial food species]] and is also known as '''gray cod''' or '''grey cod''', and '''grayfish''' or '''greyfish'''. Fishing for this species is regulated with quotas being allotted for [[Longline fishing|hook and line fishing]], [[Fish trap|pots]], and [[Bottom trawling|bottom trawls]]. Fossils have been found in Canada near a Steller Sea lion fossil dating to the Pleistocene.