LESSONS FROM A COD FISH....
(species Gadus morhua), large and economically
important marine fish of the family Gadidae, found on both sides of the
North Atlantic. The cod, a cold-water fish, generally remains near the
bottom, ranging from inshore regions to deep waters. It is valued for
its edible flesh, the oil of its liver, and other products. A
dark-spotted fish, with three dorsal fins, two anal fins, and a chin
barbel, it varies in colour from greenish or grayish to brown or
blackish, though it may also be dull to bright red. It is usually
caught at weights of up to about 11.5 kg (25 pounds) but can reach a
maximum length and weight of more than 1.8 m (6 feet) and 91 kg (201
pounds). It is a voracious migratory fish, feeding largely on other
fishes and various invertebrates.
A North Pacific species of cod, G. macrocephalus,
is very similar in appearance to the Atlantic form. In Japan this fish,
which is found in both the eastern and western Pacific, is called tara;
it is fished both for food and for liver oil. Smaller than the Atlantic
cod, it grows to a maximum of about 75 cm (30 inches) long and is
mottled brownish with a white lateral line.
Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and some species suggested to belong to genus Gadus are not called cod (the Alaska pollock).
The two most common species of cod are the Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), which lives in the colder waters and deeper sea regions throughout the North Atlantic, and the Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus), found in both eastern and western regions of the northern Pacific. Gadus morhua was named by Linnaeus in 1758. (However, G. morhua callarias, a low-salinity, nonmigratory race restricted to parts of the Baltic, was originally described as Gadus callarias by Linnaeus.)
Cod is popular as a food with a mild flavour and a dense, flaky, white flesh. Cod livers are processed to make cod liver oil, an important source of vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E, and omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Young Atlantic cod or haddock prepared in strips for cooking is called scrod. In the United Kingdom, Atlantic cod is one of the most common ingredients in fish and chips, along with haddock and plaice.
LIFE CYCLE
Spawning of northeastern Atlantic cod occurs between January and April (March and April are the peak months), at a depth of 200 metres (660 ft) in specific spawning grounds at water temperatures between 4 and 6 °C (39 and 43 °F). Around the UK, the major spawning grounds are in the middle to southern North Sea, the start of the Bristol Channel (north of Newquay), the Irish Channel (both east and west of the Isle of Man), around Stornoway, and east of Helmsdale.
Prespawning courtship involves fin displays and male grunting, which leads to pairing. The male inverts himself beneath the female, and the pair swim in circles while spawning. The eggs are planktonic and hatch between eight and 23 days, with larva reaching 4 millimetres (0.16 in) in length. This planktonic phase lasts some ten weeks, enabling the young cod to increase its body weight by 40-fold, and growing to about 2 centimetres (0.79 in). The young cod then move to the seabed and change their diet to small benthic crustaceans, such as isopods and small crabs. They increase in size to 8 centimetres (3.1 in) in the first six months, 14–18 centimetres (5.5–7.1 in) by the end of their first year, and to 25–35 centimetres (9.8–13.8 in) by the end of the second. Growth tends to be less at higher latitudes. Cod reach maturity at about 50 centimetres (20 in) at about 3 to 4 years of age.
COD AS FOOD
Cod is popular as a food with a mild flavour and a dense, flaky white flesh. Young Atlantic cod or haddock prepared in strips for cooking is called scrod. Cod's soft liver can be canned or fermented into cod liver oil, providing an excellent source of vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA). Cod flesh is moist and flaky when cooked and is white in colour. In the United Kingdom Atlantic cod is one of the most common ingredients in fish and chips, along with haddock and plaice. Cod can be easily turned into various other products, such as cod liver oil, omega pills, etc.
History
Cod has been an important economic commodity in international markets since the Viking period (around 800 AD). Norwegians travelled with dried cod and soon a dried cod market developed in southern Europe. This market has lasted for more than 1,000 years, enduring the Black Death, wars and other crises, and is still an important Norwegian fish trade. The Portuguese began fishing cod in the 15th century. Clipfish is widely enjoyed in Portugal. The Basques played an important role in the cod trade, and allegedly found the Canadian fishing banks before Columbus' discovery of America.] The North American east coast developed in part due to the vast cod stocks. Many cities in the New England area are located near cod fishing grounds. The fish was so important to the history and development of Massachusetts, the state's House of Representatives hung a wood carving of a codfish, known as the Sacred Cod of Massachusetts, in its chambers.
Apart from the long history, cod differ from most fish because the fishing grounds are far from population centers. The large cod fisheries along the coast of North Norway (and in particular close to the Lofoten islands) have been developed almost uniquely for export, depending on sea transport of stockfish over large distances.] Since the introduction of salt, dried and salted cod (clipfish or 'klippfisk' in Norwegian) has also been exported. By the end of the 14th century, the Hanseatic League dominated trade operations and sea transport, with Bergen as the most important port.
William Pitt the Elder, criticizing the Treaty of Paris in Parliament, claimed cod was "British gold"; and that it was folly to restore Newfoundland fishing rights to the French.
In the 17th and 18th centuries in the New World, especially in Massachusetts and Newfoundland, cod became a major commodity, creating trade networks and cross-cultural exchanges. In 1733, Britain tried to gain control over trade between New England and the British Caribbean by imposing the Molasses Act, which they believed would eliminate the trade by making it unprofitable. The cod trade grew instead, because the "French were eager to work with the New Englanders in a lucrative contraband arrangement"] In addition to increasing trade, the New England settlers organized into a "codfish aristocracy". The colonists rose up against Britain's "tariff on an import".
In the 20th century, Iceland re-emerged as a fishing power and entered the Cod Wars. In the late 20th and early 21st centuries, fishing off the European and American coasts severely depleted stocks and become a major political issue. The necessity of restricting catches to allow stocks to recover upset the fishing industry and politicians who are reluctant to hurt employment.
Collapse of the Atlantic northwest cod fishery
In 1992 the Canadian Federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, John Crosbie, declared a moratorium on the Northern Cod fishery, which for the preceding 500 years had largely shaped the lives and communities of Canada's eastern coast. Fishing societies interplay with the resources which they depend on: fisheries transform the ecosystem, which pushes the fishery and society to adapt. In the summer of 1992, when the Northern Cod biomass fell to 1% of earlier levels, Canada's federal government saw that this relationship had been pushed to the breaking point, and declared a moratorium, ending the region's 500-year run with the Northern Cod.
Observations on the reduced number and size of cod, and concerns of fishermen and marine biologists[62] was offered, but generally ignored in favour of the uncertain science and harmful federal policies of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans until the undeniable complete collapse of the fishery. According to any reasonable analysis, the collapse was first due to massive overfishing. Second, the dependence for maintenance of the fishery itself on the nutrient cycle that was being disrupted by removal of megatons of biomass from a closed system resulted in the starvation of the residual fish. Academics have highlighted these following four contributing factors in the eventual collapse of the cod fishery.
I noticed restaurants all over the world now serves Salmon, everywhere, salmon so much sold that polar bears are dying because people are eating so much salmon, it used to be COD , and in the U.S on the east coast, Cod was a delicacy, when the west coast heard about how prevailing cod was they wanted it, but because planes wasn't flying yet, and all you could do was put it on the rail road , they would ship the cod from the east coast to the west coast, but by the tim they got it there frozen and they cooked it it was tasteless, so, they decided we will keep it alive and put it in water and put it in a big aquariumss and we will send it across the rail road to the west coast and they discovered that even though they were alive when they got there when they cooked , they were tasteless.
so, they couldn't figure out, we froze them and they lost their taste and texture, we kept them alive and put them in big aquarium and they lost their taste and texture.
somebody said, "put a few cat fish in the tank, now cat fish are natural enemy to cod, and putting a few cat fish in the tank meant that the cod hadd to be running all the time because the cat fish was always chasing them, and they found out if you put a few cat fish in the tank, by the time you get it to the west coast it will retain it's flavour and texture because it is the catfish that kept the cod fresh,
L I F E L E S S O N
I’m constantly reminded, as I involve myself more and more with humanity, that we are not perfect. Some people and situations bring out the best us in, while others seem to bring out the worst.
But if we are persistent, if we learn from our mistakes, if we push through, in spite of our struggles or setbacks, we will not just survive, we will win!
Winning is our true identity. Struggle is just the path to get there.
Take to heart from this lesson about the Catfish and Cod as you navigate your way through your day today.
Life Puts Catfish In Our Tank On Purpose
As we progress through life, Life will make sure we have plenty of ‘catfish’ in our ‘tank.’ Our catfish may come in the form of a bully, a teacher or coach we don’t like, or another person we don’t get along with. It may come in the form of a dysfunction or attitudinal challenge within our own soul.
Sometimes our catfish can be a setback or disappointment, even a catastrophic failure in business or some other major area of life. But regardless of what form our catfish comes in, it’s main purpose is not to destroy us, but to define and refine us — to keep us from becoming stale.
No game would be a game without an opponent. And in life, as well as on the field, our opponent, our catfish, is there for one purpose only: to make us better, stronger, and wiser. To keep us from becoming stale and tasteless, so that when we reach our final destination we will not disappoint those whom we were meant for.
The only way the cod fish wouldn’t have survived the trip, all the way across country with their natural enemy in their tank, was to give up. And the only way you and I will not survive our encounters with our own catfish, as we make our way through life, is to give up. If there is one thing I refuse to do in the short period of time I have here on this earth called Life, is to give up!
Don’t Wish For Easy
Don’t wish things were easier, wish you were better, and if it’s hard then go do it hard. And remember, if you wake up today to discover a catfish in your tank, don’t panic; just keep doing what you do best. It’s there on an assignment to keep you from becoming stale.
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