Alan Davidson

Murray Cod

Appears in
Oxford Companion to Food
Oxford Companion to Food

By Alan Davidson

Published 2014

  • About

Murray cod Maccullochella macquariensis, is not a cod, nor even a marine fish. If one looks for a reason why early settlers in Australia mistook it for a cod, one can only suppose that they were influenced by the mottling on its sides.

This is a large fish, up to 1.8 m (6') in length and possibly 90 kg (200 lb) in weight. It is widely distributed in the continent, not just in the Murray River system from which it takes its name. Generally good to eat when small, but less appreciated now than in the past. Large specimens tend to be coarse and fatty.