What's for Dinner?

Atlantic Cod Nutrition

Atlantic cod are one of the top predators of the oceanic benthic zone.  They are omnivorous predators, feeding on any available organisms that are small enough for them to handle.  The majority of the cod’s foraging takes place at dawn or dusk, when their prey are also most active.  Prey items vary, including herring, mackerel, shad, young haddock, and other small schooling fish, as well small crustaceans and mollusks such as shrimp, lobsters, crabs, clams, mussels, and sea urchins.  Other food items include worms, plankton, squid, sea cucumbers, and sometimes even other young cod.  The Atlantic cod aren’t themselves schooling fish, but they will swim in small groups when cruising the waters in search of food.  As well as being predators, cod are also prey to the bigger ocean fish but mostly just sharks.  However, the Atlantic cod’s biggest predators are humans.