Paul Naylor recalls his experiences diving with a family of sleek fish related to the renowned but elusive cod
UKDIVING CRITTERCONFIDENTIAL
Cod cousins
Bib( or Pouting)- Trisopterus luscus Poor Cod- Trisopterus minutus Pollack- Pollachius pollachius Saithe( or Coley)- Pollachius virens
Paul Naylor recalls his experiences diving with a family of sleek fish related to the renowned but elusive cod
A‘ golden oldie’ – Pollack hunting sandeels( the streaks above them), taken more than 20 years ago
Young Bib often hang around a lobster’ s lair, seemingly confident in their speed and agility to evade the crustacean’ s grasp
A small Saithe chasing closely packed Sprat fleeing for their lives
Processing recent video of a cuttlefish with a throng of inquisitive small bib darting around it reminded me how many of my dives this year have been enhanced by these delightful fish and made me think that they and their relatives deserve a closer look.
The gadoid family, known as codfish, includes the Atlantic cod( often just known as‘ Cod’) but, while cod are a rare sight for divers around most of the UK, bib, poor cod, pollack and saithe are generally encountered more frequently. All these species appear quite silvery, especially in comparison to other familiar fish such as wrasse, and they share the distinctive codfish feature of three dorsal fins and two anal fins.
Bib have a deeper body shape than other codfish and are usually an attractive pale coppery colour with darker vertical bands. They sport an obvious barbel under their chin. I find that getting reasonable photos of bib needs careful breathing control as, like all of the group, they are extremely sensitive to bubble noise. Rebreather divers must have an easier time!
The name‘ poor cod’ refers to their small size and not what I think is a slightly‘ sickly’ appearance. They are very similar to bib and, confusingly, sometimes swim with them although they can also form large shoals of their own. Poor cod have a slimmer body, relatively larger eyes and only the faintest of banding if any. They also lack the dark spot at the base of their pectoral fin which is obvious on most bib.
Pollack have no chin barbel and a jutting lower jaw, unlike the bib and poor cod
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