Pacific cod Coloring Pages

A big fish that gets tasty in winter

Pacific cod are fish that live in cold northern seas.
The fish usually called "tara" in Japan is the Pacific cod. They are about 80 centimeters long, and big ones can be over 1 meter long!
In Japanese kanji, the word for Pacific cod is written with the characters for "fish" and "snow" together: 「鱈」. People say this is because they are caught in large numbers when the snow falls.
The best time to eat them is when it gets cold, around December to February.

Let's find the secrets of their body

Pacific cod have several special features that other fish do not have.
First, look at the single barbel growing from the tip of the lower jaw. People say they use this barbel to look for food on the sea floor.
They also have 3 dorsal fins on their back and 2 anal fins on their belly!
Try counting the fins on the first coloring page.
Their bodies have a spotted pattern, which is said to be the reason for their Japanese name, "madara."

Big eaters that eat anything

Pacific cod have very big mouths. They gobble up small fish, squid, shrimp, crabs, shellfish, and almost anything else.
They eat so much that some people say the Japanese phrase for eating your fill, "tarafuku taberu," comes from this hungry fish!
They usually live near the cold sea floor at depths of about 100 to 500 meters.

Two coloring pages

The first picture is drawn from a photo and shows one Pacific cod from the side. You can clearly see its chin barbel and 3 dorsal fins.
The second picture shows Pacific cod living on the cold, deep sea floor.
You can see one Pacific cod opening its big mouth wide to chase small fish, one touching its barbel to the sand to look for food, one staring at a crab, and one swimming gently.
Compare each fish to see what it is doing and what kind of face it is making!

Pacific cod on the winter dinner table

Pacific cod are fish with soft, white meat.
In cold winter, tara nabe and tara chiri—hot pots cooked with Napa cabbage and mushrooms—are very popular.
Try coloring them together with the hot pot coloring page and imagine a cozy winter dinner!
Other delicious fish in winter include Japanese amberjack, and in autumn, there is salmon too.

The back is brown, and the belly is white

Color the back of the Pacific cod with light brown, yellow-ocher, or olive green.
If you color the spots inside with dark brown, it will look just like a real Pacific cod!
Leave the belly white, or color it light gray.
If you make the color lighter from the back to the belly, its big body will look 3D!

Fins and whisker

Color the fins with a brown or gray that is a little darker than the body.
If you make the edges of the fins a little lighter, they will look clear and see-through!
If you make the chin whisker light yellow or white, it will stand out and look cute.

The deep sea is dark blue and blue-green

Color the seawater in the second picture with dark blue or blue-green to make a cold, deep sea.
Color the sea floor gray or light brown, and color the rocks a slightly darker gray.
If you leave the tiny floating bits and bubbles white, it will really feel like you are deep in the ocean!

The crab and small fish are stars, too

Color the snow crab on the sea floor with orange or light reddish-brown.
If you color the small fish chased by the Pacific cod in silver or light blue, they will stand out against the brown of the Pacific cod!

Inside the mouth and the eyes

For the Pacific cod with its mouth wide open in the second picture, color the inside of its mouth light pink or white to make the big open mouth stand out!
For the eyes, color around the black center with gold or yellow, and leave the shiny spot white.
It is fun to change the back color just a little for each Pacific cod to give every one its own special look!

"Tarafuku" and Pacific cod

In Japan, when you eat until you are full, people say "tarafuku."
Some people say this is because the Pacific cod eats so much that its belly gets huge!
Other people say it comes from a word that means "to have enough." No one knows for sure!

Shirako and Tarako

In winter, male Pacific cod have shirako in their bellies, and females have eggs. You can eat both of them!
The yummy salted fish eggs called tarako don't come from the Pacific cod. They come from its cousin, the Alaska pollock!
When you add spicy red pepper to tarako, it becomes mentaiko.

Dried Bou-dara

When you clean a Pacific cod and dry it until it is rock-hard, it is called bou-dara.
Long ago, this was a smart way to send fish from the cold northern seas to far-away towns without it going bad.
In Kyoto, people soak bou-dara in water and cook it as a special treat for New Year's and big celebrations!

Eaten All Over the World

People love to eat Pacific cod in Japan and all over the world!
It is often used in the famous British food, fish and chips.