{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{redirect|Tomcod|Pacific tomcod|Microgadus proximus}} {{Speciesbox | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 20 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=NatureServe |date=2013 |title=''Microgadus tomcod'' |volume=2013 |article-number=e.T202405A18236770 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T202405A18236770.en |access-date=20 November 2021}}</ref> | image = Atlantic tomcod.jpg | taxon = Microgadus tomcod | authority = (Walbaum, 1792) | synonyms = *''Gadus proximus'' <small>Girard, 1854</small> *''Morrhua californica'' <small>Ayres, 1854</small> *''Gadus californicus'' <small>(Ayres, 1854)</small> }}
'''''Microgadus tomcod''''', also commonly known as '''frostfish''', '''Atlantic tomcod''' or '''winter cod''', is a type of cod found in North American coastal waters from the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Estuary of St. Lawrence River and northern Newfoundland, south to Virginia.<ref name="Poulamon atlantique, Atlantic tomcod">{{cite web |title=Poulamon atlantique, Atlantic tomcod |url=https://www.quebec.ca/agriculture-environnement-et-ressources-naturelles/faune/animaux-sauvages-quebec/liste-des-especes-fauniques/poulamon-atlantique |website=Gouvernement of Quebec |publisher=Ministry of the Environment, the Fight against Climate Change, Wildlife and Parks |access-date=22 October 2024 |language=fr |date=October 2024 |quote=The Atlantic tomcod spawns between mid-December and the end of January. Reproduction takes place in fresh water, under the ice. Spawning takes place on sand or gravel bottoms, at the foot of rapids or in gaps in the frazil ice.}}</ref>
== Taxonomy == The Atlantic tomcod is one of two species in the ''Microgadus'' genus, the other being ''Microgadus proximus'', the Pacific tomcod.
==Tomcod fishing== In 1757, Count Louis-Antoine de Bougainville (1729-1811) noted that the French settlers of New France practiced angling under the ice to capture the Microgadus tomcod which swims upstream to spawn in the streams flowing into Lake Saint-Pierre and its tributaries, near Trois-Rivières.<ref name="Fishing Methods Used in the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf">{{cite web |author1=Marcel Moussette |title=Fishing Methods Used in the St. Lawrence River and the Gulf |url=https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2017/pc/R64-81-1979-22-eng.pdf |website=Gouvernement of Canada |publisher=National Historic Parks and Sites Branch Parks Canada Indian and Northern Affairs |access-date=23 October 2024 |page=179 |date=1979 |quote=Ice Fishing for Tomcod. This fish, which migrates in large numbers toward the end of December (whence comes its nickname petit poisson de Noël), was a major contributor to the fresh food supply of the colon}}</ref>
[[File:0064 05 riviere Ste Anne 2013.jpg|thumb|left|Ice fishing village on the Sainte-Anne River]] The fishing season of the tomcod varies by location—one known example is the Sainte-Anne River in Quebec.
A 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.<ref name="Poulamon atlantique, Atlantic tomcod"/> {{Clearleft}} ==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<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Williams |first1=PJ |last2=Courtenay |first2=SC |last3=Wilson |first3=CE |title=Annual sex steroid profiles and effects of gender and season on cytochrome P450 mRNA induction in Atlantic tomcod (Microgadus tomcod) |journal=Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry |date=August 1998 |volume=17 |issue=8 |pages=1582–1588 |doi=10.1897/1551-5028(1998)017<1582:ASSPAE>2.3.CO;2}}</ref> 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 dumped polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the Hudson River 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.<ref name="Welsh">{{cite news|last=Welsh|first=Jennifer|title=Fish Evolved to Survive GE Toxins in Hudson River|publisher=LiveScience|url=https://www.livescience.com/12897-fish-evolved-survive-ge-toxins-hudson-110218.html|date=February 17, 2011|access-date=September 26, 2017}}</ref>
This species can reach a length of {{convert|38.1|cm|in|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{FishBase |genus= Microgadus|species= tomcod| month = February | year = 2016}}</ref>
== Gallery == <gallery mode="packed" caption="Microgadus tomcod"> Glace 016.jpg|Frozen on the ice of the Sainte-Anne River, at the door of a fishing hut<ref name="Poulamon atlantique, Atlantic tomcod"/><ref name="Ice fishing in Mauricie: Places to ice fish in winter">{{cite web |title=Ice fishing in Mauricie: Places to ice fish in winter |url=https://tourismemauricie.com/blogue/peche-blanche-en-mauricie-8-endroits-pour-pecher-sur-la-glace-en-hiver |publisher=Mauricie tourism |access-date=29 October 2024 |language=fr |quote=... the fish (tomcod) are always there and in large numbers day and night! Fishing for small fish in the Chenaux is a family event not to be missed in winter, with a host of free activities surrounding fishing such as sliding, the ice rink and tram rides.}}</ref> File:POULAMON.JPG File:POULAMON2.JPG </gallery>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20060906060528/http://www.gma.org/fogm/Microgadus_tomcod.htm Microgadus tomcod] * [http://www.quebecweb.com/marceau/recettesa.html Poisson des chenaux page with recipes]
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Atlantic tomcod Category:Saint Lawrence River Category:Fish of the Atlantic Ocean Category:Fauna of Atlantic Canada Category:Fauna of the Eastern United States Atlantic tomcod Category:Taxa named by Johann Julius Walbaum