Alaska pollock

The speckled coloring of Alaska pollock makes it more difficult for predators to see them when they are near sandy ocean floors.[6] They are a relatively fast-growing and short-lived species, currently representing a major biological component of the Bering Sea ecosystem.[2] It has been found that catches of Alaska pollock go up three years after stormy summers. The storms stir up nutrients, and this results in phytoplankton being plentiful for longer, which in turn allows more pollock hatchlings to survive.[7] The Alaska pollock has well-developed drumming muscles[8] that the fish use to produce sounds during courtship, like many other gadids.[9][10]

Global capture of Alaska pollock in tonnes reported by the FAO, 1950–2015[14]

The Alaska pollock has been said to be "the largest remaining source of palatable fish in the world."[15] Around 3 million tons of Alaska pollock are caught each year in the North Pacific from Alaska to northern Japan. Alaska pollock is the world's second most important fish species in terms of total catch.[16]

The Alaska pollock landings are the largest of any single fish species in the U.S, the average annual Eastern Bering Sea catch between 1977 and 2014 being 1.174 million tons.[17] Alaska pollock catches from U.S. fisheries have been quite consistent at about 1.5 million tons a year, almost all of it from the Bering Sea. Each year's quota is adjusted based on stock assessments conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Centre.[18] For instance, stock declines in 2008[19] meant decreased allowable harvests for 2009 and 2010. This decline led some scientists to worry that Alaska pollock could be about to repeat the collapse of the Atlantic cod, which could have negative consequences for the world food supply and the Bering Sea ecosystem. Halibut, salmon, endangered Steller sea lions, fur seals, and humpback whales all eat pollock and rely on healthy populations to sustain themselves.[20] Alaska pollock stocks (and catch levels) subsequently returned to above average in 2011 and remained so through to 2014.[17] However, Greenpeace has long been critical of Alaska pollock management, placing the fish on its "red list" of species due to damage of the seabed from trawling.[21]

Other groups have hailed the fishery as an example of good management, and the Marine Stewardship Council declared it "sustainable".[22] The Marine Conservation Society rates Alaska pollock trawled from the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands as sustainable, but not those from the Western Bering Sea and Okhotsk Sea.[23]

• 
  Pollock larvae
• 
  Juvenile pollock
• 
  Adult pollock
• 
  70 ton catch of Alaska pollock

Compared to other pollock, Alaska pollock has a milder taste, whiter color and lower oil content.

High-quality, single-frozen whole Alaska pollock fillets may be layered into a block mold and deep-frozen to produce fish blocks that are used throughout Europe and North America as the raw material for high-quality breaded and battered fish products. Lower-quality, double-frozen fillets or minced trim pieces may also be frozen in block forms and used as raw material for lower-quality, low-cost breaded and battered fish sticks and portions.

Single-frozen Alaska pollock is considered to be the premier raw material for surimi; the most common use of surimi in the United States is imitation crabmeat (also known as crab stick).

Alaska pollock is commonly used in the fast food industry, in products such as McDonald's Filet-O-Fish sandwich and (now-discontinued) Fish McBites,[24] Arby's Classic Fish sandwich,[25] Long John Silver's Baja Fish Taco,[26]Birds Eye's Fish Fingers in Crispy Batter.[27] and Captain D's Seafood Kitchen.[28]

Korea

Drying hwangtae in winter

Alaska pollock is considered the "national fish" of Korea.[29][30] The Korean name of the fish, myeongtae (명태,明太), has also spread to some neighbouring countries: It is called mintay (минтай) in Russia, and its roe is called mentaiko (明太子) in Japan although the Japanese name for the fish itself is suketōdara (介党鱈). In Korea, myeongtae is called by thirty-odd names including: saengtae (생태, fresh), dongtae (동태, frozen), bugeo (북어, dried), hwangtae (황태, dried in winter with repeated freezing and thawing), nogari (노가리, dried young), and kodari (코다리, half-dried young).[30]

Koreans have been enjoying Alaska pollock since the Joseon era. One of the earliest mentions are from Seungjeongwon ilgi (Journal of the Royal Secretariat), where a 1652 entry stated: "The management administration should be strictly interrogated for bringing in pollock roe instead of cod roe."[31] Alaska pollocks were the most commonly caught fish in Korea in 1940, when more than 270,000 tonnes were caught from the Sea of Japan (East Sea).[32] It outnumbers the current annual consumption of Alaska pollock in South Korea, estimated at about 260,000 tonnes in 2016.[33] Nowadays, however, Alaska pollock consumption in South Korea rely heavily on import from Russia, due to rises in sea water temperatures.[34]

Pollock roe

Canned Alaska pollock roe, served on rye cracker (Russia)

Pollock roe is a popular culinary ingredient in Korea, Japan, and Russia. In Korea, the roe is called myeongnan (명란, literally "Alaska pollock's roe"), and the salted roe is called myeongnan-jeot (명란젓, literally "pollock roe jeotgal"). The food was introduced to Japan after World War II, and since has been called mentai-ko (明太子) in Japanese. A milder, less spicy version is usually called tarako (鱈子, literally "cod's roe"), which is also the Japanese name for pollock roe itself. In Russia, pollock roe is consumed as a sandwich spread. The product, resembling liquid paste due to the small size of eggs and oil added, is sold canned.

• NOAA NMFS: U.S. Seafood Facts
• FISHINFOnetwork Market Report 04/07
• FishBase: Alaska Pollock
• Alaska pollock-Theragra chalcogramma fishery profiles Status of these fisheries, summarised on FisheriesWiki