Pacific cod in the eastern North Pacific are distributed from the Pacific Rim and southward to Southern California (Gustafson et al. 2000). Pacific cod belonging to this “North American” stock group (Grant et al. 1987) have been understood to be more genetically homogeneous relative to their western North Pacific counterpart, known as the “Asian” stock group. Significant migration of Pacific cod is known to occur within and between the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS), Aleutian Islands (AI), and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) regions. However, a body of research performed since Grant et al.’s 1987 analysis indicates that genetically distinct stocks do exist in the EBS and the AI region, and the EBS stock has been expanding its range into the Northern Bering Sea (NBS) (Spies 2012)(Spies et al. 2020)(Thompson et al. 2021).

Beginning in 2013, these two stocks have been assessed independently, and as of 2014 Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) are no longer managed as a single unit (Thompson et al. 2021). As such, there are now two unique FishSource profiles dedicated to these units; the Aleutian Islands Pacific cod profile can be found here. There is an additional Alaskan profile group for Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska. There are also commercially managed fisheries in Canada in Hecate Strait, Queen Charlotte Sound, and the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

For Pacific cod in the western North Pacific, see Asian stock group profiles: Sea of Okhotsk, Petropavlovsk-Komondor, W Bering Sea, and the Yellow Sea.