Pollock

Pollock is a common name for two species of marine fish. These fish live in the North Atlantic ocean.

They belong to the genus Pollachius. These fish are important because they are caught for food globally. Most people consider Atlantic pollock to be a type of whitefish. This means the meat is light in color.

Because they are versatile, they are found in many supermarkets. You can buy them as fresh fillets or frozen items.

There are two distinct species within the genus Pollachius. The first is Pollachius pollachius, named by Linnaeus in 1758. In North America and the United Kingdom, people call this species pollock. It is also known as the Atlantic pollock or European pollock.

The second species is Pollachius virens, also named by Linnaeus in 1758. In Great Britain, this species is often called saithe or coley. It is also known as coalfish. Some people even call it Boston blue or silver bill.

Each species has physical traits that help you tell them apart. Pollachius virens has a very strong, silvery lateral line. This lateral line is a line that runs down the side of the fish. Above this line, the fish is a greenish black color. Its belly is white.

Pollachius pollachius looks different from its relative. It has a dark brown back and a grayish to golden belly. Its lateral line is distinctly crooked. This species also has a strong underbite.

These fish can grow to be quite large and heavy. Pollachius virens can reach a weight of up to 15 kilograms. Pollachius pollachius can grow to weigh up to 10 kilograms.

Both species can be found in water deeper than 100 meters. They often live near rocks. They can also be found anywhere in the water column. This flexibility helps them thrive in different parts of the ocean.

People have many traditional ways of preparing these fish. In Norway, the slightly grey color of pollock leads people to make fried fish balls. In Shetland, people bread juvenile-sized fish with oatmeal and fry them. In Orkney, one-year-old fish are split, salted, and dried. They are dried over a peat hearth until the texture becomes wooden.

In Germany, coalfish is salted and smoked. This process gives the fish an orange color like salmon. Because of this, it is sometimes sold as "sea salmon."

Pollock is a major part of the commercial fishing industry.

In the United Kingdom, it was once a cheaper alternative to cod or haddock. Recently, it has become more popular because of the overfishing of those other fish. In 2009, the supermarket Sainsbury's tried to boost sales of Atlantic pollock. They renamed it "colin," which comes from the French word for cooked pollock. They used the slogan "Colin and chips can save British cod."

Health is also an important factor when eating pollock. It is regarded as a low-mercury fish. Mercury is a metal that can be found in some seafood. For a woman weighing 70 kilograms, it is safe to eat up to 170 grams per week. For a child weighing 25 kilograms, the safe amount is 50 grams per week. This makes it a common ingredient in many prepared foods. You might find it minced in fish fingers or used in imitation crab meat.