Saffron cod (ice fish)

Japanese: コマイ(氷魚∥氷下魚) - コマイ（英語表記）saffron cod

A marine fish of the family Codidae (illustration). It is widely distributed in the Sea of Japan and the North Pacific, with its southern limit as far south as Incheon, Korea, and Puget Sound, USA. Its body shape is similar to that of Pacific cod, but its head and body are slender. Its body color is yellowish brown on the back with irregular dark brown markings. Its ventral side is silvery white. Its lower jaw is shorter than its upper jaw and has barbels. It has three dorsal fins and two anal fins. It is about 30 cm long. It is common in northeastern Hokkaido, and can be caught in Akkeshi Bay in autumn, but in Nemuro Bay, when the sea and brackish lake surfaces freeze over from January to March, the spawning schools that gather underneath are caught by drilling holes in the ice and using fixed fishing nets or hand fishing.

Source: Heibonsha World Encyclopedia, 2nd Edition Information

Japanese:

タラ目タラ科の海産魚（イラスト）。日本海および北洋に広く分布し，南限は韓国の仁川，アメリカ合衆国のピュージェット･サウンド。体型はマダラに似ているが，頭部も体も細い。体色は背部が黄褐色で不規則な暗褐色の斑紋がある。腹側は銀白色。下あごは上あごより短く，ひげがある。背びれは3基，しりびれは2基。全長30cm程度。北海道の北東部に多く，厚岸湾では秋に釣るが，根室湾では1～3月ころ海面や汽水湖面が一面に結氷したとき，その下に集まってくる産卵群を氷に穴をあけて定置や手釣りで漁獲する。

出典　株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典第２版について　情報

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