The Haddock is a member of the cod family and is renowned as splendid table fare. It can be found both in the waters of the American and European coasts of the Atlantic Ocean. In the northwest Atlantic, it ranges from the southern end of the Grand Banks to Cape Cod in the summer and it extends its range southward to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in the winter.

Haddock can be distinguished from the other closely related members of the cod family by a black lateral line, which is a series of sensory pores that detect local disturbances in the water, and a large spot on each side of the body over the pectoral fins. These spots are often described as a "thumbprint" or even the "Devil's thumbprint" or " St. Peter's mark".

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 Fresh haddock has a clean white flesh and can be cooked in the same ways as cod. It has a delicate flake and a slightly sweet taste, giving it a melt-in-your-mouth quality. However, unlike related cod, haddock does not salt well and is often preserved by drying or smoking. This form of haddock is known as Finnan Haddie, named after the fishing village in Scotland where it was originally cold-smoked over peat.
 

On the fishing docks of New England, both young fresh haddock and cod are sold interchangeably as "Scrod". This term refers to the size of the fish rather than the species and prepared the same, a diner would be very hard pressed to distinguish between the two.