The most important groundfish species in world fisheries
Alaska and Russian pollock (
Theragra chalcogramma) is a small relative of the cod.
This large-eyed fish is the most important groundfish species in world fisheries (groundfish are fish that live on, in, or near the bottom of the body of water they inhabit).
It also supports the second largest fishery in the world after the Peruvian anchovy.
Pollock is marketed under several trade names including
- walleye pollock,
- whiting,
- Pacific tomcod,
- Pacific pollock, and
- Alaska pollock.
Pollock is usually sold to consumers as fillets or breaded and battered portions, and it is frequently used as the main fish ingredient to make surimi products such as imitation crab.
Products are consumed all over the world, most notably in the Asian Pacific
region, North America and Europe. Pollock fisheries make up an important proportion of total Russian and US seafood production in the Pacific region.
US Pollock
The main fishing pollock areas for the US pollock fishery are in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, with the Bering Sea accounting for more than 90% of the volume of the US pollock fishery.
Fished exclusively by US vessels, the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for the fishery in 2007 was worth about $US 1.5 billion.
The US, through its
North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC), is responsible for managing the fishery.
Russian Pollock
The main fishing areas for Russian pollock fisheries are in the western parts of the Bering Sea and in the Sea of Okhotsk.
Russian fisheries commonly refer to pollock under the trade name “Alaska
Pollock,” but the Russian fisheries only operate in Russian waters and should not be confused with the US Pollock fishery.
Fished mainly by Russian vessels, the fishery is managed by the Russian
Federation.
