Torsk

 

Torsk

Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) 

Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons

Torsk is the Scandinavian name for cod, but specifically Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) which is also known commercially as codling.

All true torsk are cod but not all cod are torsk. Some in the cod (Gadidae) family are sometimes marketed as cod, but are more properly known as haddock, pollock, coley, whiting, hake, among others.

In Ireland and the UK, cusk (Brosme brosme) is called torsk, even though it is not.

Atlantic cod can live for twenty-five years, and are sexually mature at ages varying from two to eight years. It has been heavily overfished, to the point of being labelled vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. Some stocks are more endangered than others, for example, in the western Atlantic around Canada and New England.

 Eastern Atlantic cod stocks, around Iceland, Norway, and the Barents Sea (north of Norway and Russia and strictly part of the Arctic Ocean) are at healthy, sustainable levels.

North Sea and Celtic Sea cod stocks are still endangered. The situation in the North Sea is so dire that scientists have advised that there should be nr cod fishing in these waters. In addition, other stocks of the Gadidae family are also causing concern. Similar restricted fishing measures are expected to be suggested in the Celtic Sea.

Fish, once a cheap and easily sourced food, has become increasingly expensive. Suggested alternatives for cheaper meals are chicken, beans, pulses, eggs, mushrooms, and tofu.

Chicken and eggs are produced at speed on an industrial scale, but that’s a topic for another time.