Pollachius pollachius

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Atlantic pollock
Pollachius pollachius aquarium.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Gadiformes
Family: Gadidae
Genus: Pollachius
Species:
P. pollachius
Binomial name
Pollachius pollachius
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms

Gadus pollachiusLinnaeus, 1758

  • Merlangus pollachius(Linnaeus, 1758)
  • Gadus lycostomusFaber, 1828
  • Pollachius typus Bonaparte, 1846
  • Gadus viridis Gronow, 1854
  • Pollachius linnei Malm, 1877

Pollachius pollachius is a species of marine fish in the family Gadidae. FAO uses the English name pollack for this species, whereas in American English it is known as European pollock. Other vernacular names include lythe, and in the Isle of Man, calig . [2]

Contents

It is common in the north-eastern parts of the Northern Atlantic, including the Bay of Biscay and North Sea. [1] Adults can grow up to 130 cm (51 in) and weigh up to 12.5 kg (28 lb), although more commonly their maximum length is 75 cm (30 in). [2] [3]

Ecology and life history

Pollack are fast-growing and relatively short-lived. [3] The maximum reported age is 15 years. [4] They are said to spawn offshore, although their spawning grounds are poorly known; a study of a fjord population in Norway suggested local spawning. [5]

Pollack are benthopelagic, that is, they live near the sea floor. [3] They seem to be relatively sedentary. [5] [6]

Fisheries

Pollack is of value to fisheries, although it mainly represents bycatch. Landings data show three fairly distinct centres of distribution, one in the northern North Sea/Skagerrak extending north along the Norwegian coast, one between the English Channel, the Irish Sea, and the northern part of the French west coast, and one in the Iberian waters. [4] Total reported landings are of the order of a few thousand tonnes. [7]

Pollack is an important species in recreational fisheries. In Norway, tourist fishers alone were estimated to catch 100 tonnes of pollack in 2009. [8] In France, 3,500 tonnes of pollock were estimated to be caught in all recreational fisheries. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cod</span> Common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus

Cod is the common name for the demersal fish genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae. Cod is also used as part of the common name for a number of other fish species, and one species that belongs to genus Gadus is commonly not called cod.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic cod</span> Species of fish

The Atlantic cod is a fish of the family Gadidae, widely consumed by humans. It is also commercially known as cod or codling. Dry cod may be prepared as unsalted stockfish, and as cured salt cod or clipfish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pollock</span> North Atlantic marine fish in the genus Pollachius

Pollock or pollack is the common name used for either of the two species of North Atlantic marine fish in the genus Pollachius. Pollachius pollachius is referred to as pollock in North America, Ireland and the United Kingdom, while Pollachius virens is usually known as saithe or coley in Great Britain and Ireland. Other names for P. pollachius include the Atlantic pollock, European pollock, lieu jaune, and lythe; while P. virens is also known as Boston blue, silver bill, or saithe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skagerrak</span> Sea between Denmark, Norway and Sweden

The Skagerrak is a strait running between the Jutland peninsula of Denmark, the east coast of Norway and the west coast of Sweden, connecting the North Sea and the Kattegat sea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic herring</span> Species of fish

Atlantic herring is a herring in the family Clupeidae. It is one of the most abundant fish species in the world. Atlantic herrings can be found on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, congregating in large schools. They can grow up to 45 centimetres (18 in) in length and weigh up to 1.1 kilograms (2.4 lb). They feed on copepods, krill and small fish, while their natural predators are seals, whales, cod and other larger fish.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haddock</span> Species of fish

The haddock is a saltwater ray-finned fish from the family Gadidae, the true cods. It is the only species in the monotypic genus Melanogrammus. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean and associated seas, where it is an important species for fisheries, especially in northern Europe, where it is marketed fresh, frozen and smoked; smoked varieties include the Finnan haddie and the Arbroath smokie.

<i>Boreogadus saida</i> Species of fish

Boreogadus saida, known as the polar cod or as the Arctic cod, is a fish of the cod family Gadidae, related to the true cod. Another fish species for which both the common names Arctic cod and polar cod are used is Arctogadus glacialis.

<i>Sebastes norvegicus</i> Species of fish

Sebastes norvegicus, the rose fish, rock fish, ocean perch, Atlantic redfish, Norway haddock, golden redfish, pinkbelly rosefish or bergylt, is a species of marine ray-finned fish belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae, the rockfishes, part of the family Scorpaenidae. It is found in the North Atlantic Ocean. It is a large, slow-growing, late-maturing fish and the subject of a fishery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capelin</span> Species of fish

The capelin or caplin is a small forage fish of the smelt family found in the North Atlantic, North Pacific and Arctic oceans. In summer, it grazes on dense swarms of plankton at the edge of the ice shelf. Larger capelin also eat a great deal of krill and other crustaceans. Among others, whales, seals, Atlantic cod, Atlantic mackerel, squid and seabirds prey on capelin, in particular during the spawning season while the capelin migrate south. Capelin spawn on sand and gravel bottoms or sandy beaches at the age of two to six years. When spawning on beaches, capelin have an extremely high post-spawning mortality rate which, for males, is close to 100%. Males reach 20 cm (8 in) in length, while females are up to 25.2 cm (10 in) long. They are olive-coloured dorsally, shading to silver on sides. Males have a translucent ridge on both sides of their bodies. The ventral aspects of the males iridesce reddish at the time of spawn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common ling</span> Species of fish

The common ling, also known as the white ling or simply the ling, is a large member of the family Lotidae, a group of cod-like fishes. It resembles the related rocklings, but it is much larger and has a single barbel. This species is unrelated to the pink ling, Genypterus blacodes, from the Southern Hemisphere. The common ling is found in the northern Atlantic, mainly off Europe, and into the Mediterranean Basin. It is an important quarry species for fisheries, especially in the northeastern Atlantic, although some doubts exist as to the sustainability of the fisheries. As an edible species, it is eaten fresh, frozen, or dried, but also preserved in lye, while the roe is a delicacy in Spain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cusk (fish)</span> Species of fish

The cusk or tusk is a North Atlantic cod-like fish in the ling family Lotidae. It is the only species in the genus Brosme. Its other common names include European cusk, and brosmius.

<i>Pollachius virens</i> Species of fish

The saithe is a species of marine fish in the genus Pollachius. Together with P. pollachius, it is generally referred to in the United States as pollock. Other names include the Boston blue, coalfish/coley, and saithe in the UK, where the young fish are called podleys in Scotland and northern England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alaska pollock</span> Species of fish

The Alaska pollock or walleye pollock is a marine fish species of the cod genus Gadus and family Gadidae.

Discards are the portion of a catch of fish which is not retained on board during commercial fishing operations and is returned, often dead or dying, to the sea. The practice of discarding is driven by economic and political factors; fish which are discarded are often unmarketable species, individuals which are below minimum landing sizes and catches of species which fishers are not allowed to land, for instance due to quota restrictions. Discards form part of the bycatch of a fishing operation, although bycatch includes marketable species caught unintentionally. Discarding can be highly variable in time and space as a consequence of changing economic, sociological, environmental and biological factors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cod fisheries</span> Fisheries for cod

Cod fisheries are fisheries for cod. Cod is the common name for fish of the genus Gadus, belonging to the family Gadidae, and this article is confined to three species that belong to this genus: the Atlantic cod, the Pacific cod and the Greenland cod. Although there is a fourth species of the cod genus Gadus, Alaska pollock, it is commonly not called cod and therefore currently not covered here.

<i>Merluccius merluccius</i> Species of fish

Merluccius merluccius, the European hake, is a merluccid hake of the genus Merluccius. Other vernacular names include Cornish salmon and herring hake. It is a predatory species which was often netted alongside one of its favoured prey, the Atlantic herring, thus the latter common name. It is found in the eastern Atlantic from the Norway and Iceland south to Mauritania and into the Mediterranean Sea. It is an important species in European fisheries and is heavily exploited with some populations thought to be being fished unsustainably.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chilean jack mackerel</span> Species of fish

The Chilean jack mackerel, sometimes called the Inca scad or Peruvian jack mackerel, is a species of jack mackerel in the genus Trachurus of the family Carangidae. Since the 1970s, it has become one of the world's more important commercial fish species. High volumes have been harvested, but the fishery may now be in danger of collapsing.

Merluccius australis, the southern hake, is a species of fish from the family Merlucciidae, the true hakes. It is found in the southern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans with two disjunct populations, one around southern South America and the other in the waters around New Zealand.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) in the Arctic is an under researched scientific field. The most recent academic articles about IUU in the Arctic mainly concerns the mid-2000s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roughnose grenadier</span> Species of fish

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References

  1. 1 2 Cook, R.; Fernandes, P.; Florin, A.; Lorance, P.; Nedreaas, K. (2014). "Pollachius pollachius". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2014: e.T18125103A45098355. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2014-3.RLTS.T18125103A45098355.en . Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  2. 1 2 Froese, Rainer; Pauly, Daniel (eds.) (2022). "Pollachius pollachius" in FishBase . August 2022 version.
  3. 1 2 3 Cohen, Daniel M.; Tadashi Inada; Tomio lwamoto; Nadia Scialabba (1990). FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fisheries Synopsis. Rome: FAO. p. 442.
  4. 1 2 ICES (May 2021). Stock Annex: Pollack (Pollachius pollachius) in Subarea 4 and Division 3.a (North Sea, Skagerrak and Kattegat). ICES Stock Annex. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. 4 pp.
  5. 1 2 Heino, M.; Svasand, T.; Nordeide, J. T.; Ottera, H. (2012). "Seasonal dynamics of growth and mortality suggest contrasting population structure and ecology for cod, pollack, and saithe in a Norwegian fjord" (PDF). ICES Journal of Marine Science. 69 (4): 537–546. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fss043 .
  6. Jakobsen, Tore (1985). Tagging of pollack on the Norwegian west coast in 1979 (Report). ICES Document. Copenhagen: ICES. 3 pp. CM 1985/G: 24.
  7. "Global capture production Quantity (1950 - 2020)". FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  8. Volstad, J. H.; Korsbrekke, K.; Nedreaas, K. H.; Nilsen, M.; Nilsson, G. N.; Pennington, M.; Subbey, S.; Wienerroither, R. (2011). "Probability-based surveying using self-sampling to estimate catch and effort in Norway's coastal tourist fishery". ICES Journal of Marine Science. 68 (8): 1785–1791. doi: 10.1093/icesjms/fsr077 . hdl: 11250/108965 .
  9. ICES (2010). Report of the Planning Group on Recreational Fisheries (PGRFS), 7-11 June 2010, Bergen, Norway (PDF). ICES Document. Copenhagen: International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. 168 pp. CM 2010/ACOM:34.

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