Lingcod is a popular game and food fish found along the West Coast of the United States and shipped frozen to other regions. They are part of the Greenling family, predators, and prefer to stay near the ocean floor. Lingcod is versatile and can be cooked in various ways, but there are concerns about their vulnerability to pollution and overfishing, as well as mercury contamination.
Lingcod is a marine fish native to North Pacific waters; it can be found along coasts from Alaska to Mexico. On the West Coast of the United States, lingcod is a popular game and fish food, and is often readily available at markets and fishmongers. Frozen lingcod is shipped to other regions of the world for consumers who enjoy the delicate white flesh of this fish.
Despite the name, lingcods aren’t actually true codfish. They are actually part of the Greenling family and are formally known as Ophiodon elongatus. A mature lingcod can grow to 1.5 feet in length, with a brown to blue-green muscular body speckled with copper and brown blotches. The fish have distinctive large mouths surrounded by a formidable array of teeth, and their faces are slightly pug-nosed, making them quite funny.
In general, these fish are predators, waiting to eat smaller fish. They can also be very defensive of their territory, especially when they are spawning and guarding the resulting egg packets. Most lingcods prefer to stay near the ocean floor and are often found in reefs and rocky deposits which offer many refuges and hiding places.
To sport fishermen, lingcods are a popular wild fish because they tend to fight, and their sweet, tender flesh can be cooked in a variety of ways. Whitefish also tend to be popular with consumers as they are very versatile and several commercial fishing companies bring in catches of corn to meet consumer demand. The delicate flesh is sturdy enough to withstand grilling, and it can also be roasted, fried, used in fish and chips, and steamed, depending on personal taste. It also absorbs flavor very well.
While lingcod appears to make good fish on the surface, there are some concerns about lingcod that make it a less-than-ideal choice. The first has to do with their preferred habitat near the shoreline; lingcods are very vulnerable to oil spills and other forms of pollution and tend to bioaccumulate heavy metals and other unhealthy substances. Also, lingcods are very slow to mature, so they are threatened by overfishing and other unsustainable practices. Pregnant women should avoid consuming lingcod due to mercury contamination issues, and other people may wish to limit their consumption to a few pieces per month.
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