Pollock or pollack (pronounced ) 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 (derived from the older name coalfish). Other names for P. pollachius include the Atlantic pollock, European pollock, , and lythe or lithe; while P. virens is also known as Boston blue (distinct from bluefish) and silver bill.
Species
The recognized species in this genus are:
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Species
!Common name
!Image
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|Pollachius pollachius <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
|pollack
|frameless
|-
|Pollachius virens <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small>
|coalfish
|frameless
|}
Description
Both species can grow to . P. virens can weigh up to and P. pollachius can weigh up to .]]
[[File:Global total production pollock.png|thumb|right|upright=0.75|The total capture of pollock in 2010 as reported by the FAO was .
In 2009, UK supermarket Sainsbury's briefly renamed Atlantic pollock "colin" in a bid to boost ecofriendly sales of the fish as an alternative to cod. Sainsbury's, which said the new name was derived from the French for cooked pollock (), launched the product under the banner "Colin and chips can save British cod."
Pollock is regarded as a "low-mercury fish" a woman weighing can safely eat up to per week, and a child weighing can safely eat up to .
Other fish called pollock
One member of the genus Gadus is also commonly referred to as pollock: the Alaska pollock or walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), including the form known as the Norway pollock. They are also members of the family Gadidae but not members of the genus Pollachius.
References
Further reading
- Davidson, Alan. Oxford Companion to Food (1999), "Saithe", p. 682. .
- Norum, Ben. The Big Book of Ben (2007), "pollock / pollack", p. 32.
External links
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