''Microgadus tomcod'' Walbaum. — Poulamon atlantique, Petit poisson des chenaux, poulamon, petite morue, loche. — (Atlantic tomcod, Tomcod, Frostfish, Tommycod), is a type of

cod Cod (: cod) is the common name for the demersal fish genus ''Gadus'', belonging to the family (biology), family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus ''Gad ...

found in North American coastal waters from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Estuary of St. Lawrence River and northern

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

, south to

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Glace 016.jpg, Frozen on the ice of the Sainte-Anne River, at the door of a fishing hut File:POULAMON.JPG File:POULAMON2.JPG

Tomcod fishing

In 1757, Count Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) noted that the French settlers of

New France New France (, ) was the territory colonized by Kingdom of France, France in North America, beginning with the exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence by Jacques Cartier in 1534 and ending with the cession of New France to Kingdom of Great Br ...

practiced angling under the ice to capture the Microgadus tomcod Walbaum which swims upstream to spawn in the streams flowing into Lake Saint-Pierre and its tributaries, near

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

The fishing season of the tomcod varies by location—one known example is the Sainte-Anne River in

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

. Winter visitor, the Microgadus tomcod spawns between mid-December and the end of January mainly up to the Sainte-Anne and Batiscan rivers, in the Estuary of St. Lawrence River. Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade another village rises"> File:Installation_021.jpg, Strengthening ice by watering File:Installation_005.jpg, Installation of the electrical network File:Installation_019.jpg, Electrical poles and wires File:Trou_glace_031.jpg, Hole and ice blocks File:Installation_053.jpg, Resurfacing a cabin with ice, which will be covered with snow

Science

A biomonitoring program tracked hormone levels of Atlantic tomcod caught near Miramichi and Kouchibouguac in 1993 and 1994, demonstrating that the preparatory period for spawning began in September with maximal steroid levels in November, and spawning took place from late December to January. The town of Sainte-Anne-de-la-Pérade is notable for its fishing village built on the frozen waters of the Ste-Anne, playing host to the scores of fishermen visiting the town to fish for the species. After

General Electric General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston. Over the year ...

dumped polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the

Hudson River The Hudson River, historically the North River, is a river that flows from north to south largely through eastern New York (state), New York state. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains at Henderson Lake (New York), Henderson Lake in the ...

from 1947 through 1976, tomcod living in the river were found to have developed an increased resistance to the compound's toxic effects. Scientists identified the genetic mutation that conferred the resistance, and found that the mutated form was present in 99 percent of the tomcods in the river, compared to fewer than 10 percent of the tomcods from other waters. This species can reach a length of .

Taxonomy

The Atlantic tomcod is one of two species in the ''Microgadus'' genus, the other being '' Microgadus proximus'', the Pacific tomcod.

References

External links

Microgadus tomcod

{{Taxonbar, from=Q535432 Atlantic tomcod Saint Lawrence River Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Fauna of Atlantic Canada Fauna of the Eastern United States Atlantic tomcod Taxa named by Johann Julius Walbaum