ONE STAR
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The Pollock is a member of the cod family and can be found in both inshore waters and down to depths of 200m, in areas with hard bottoms. Pollock has an olive-green back and a pale-silver belly. Juveniles are pelagic, spending 2-3 years near the coast including rocky areas, kelp beds, sandy shores and estuaries, either solitary or in small shoals. It is both an offshore pelagic or coastal benthic species found on the sea bed around rocks, wrecks and kelp forests.
Pollock grow fast at first until they sexually mature between the ages of 3 and 6. They grow to over 3-1/2 feet long and 35 pounds and can live a long time, up to 23 years. The pollock has a relatively large mouth with a protruding lower jaw, no barbell and conspicuously large yellow eyes. Females spawn up to ca 100 meters depth between January and April, with the greatest intensity during March. Pollock feed on deep sea prawns, herring, anchovy, sprat and other open water fish, and can be observed hanging above or within kelp forests and wrecks. Pollock are sometimes known as Saithe, Coalfish, Coley or Green Cod.
QUIRKY FACT
Historically many fishermen and sea anglers have given Pollock the unfortunate reputation of being poor quality and not fit for human consumption. Its off-white flesh has traditionally been considered so unappetising as to be fit only for the cat, hence the saying “pollock for puss, coley for cat”. Fortunately for the pollock strong support from celebrity chefs such as Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and Jamie Oliver have elevated the pollock’s reputation out of the slums and into superstardom. They firmly believe that anything you can do with a cod you can do with a pollock. Not only is the pollock starting to appear on menus as a quality fish in its own right it is also doing its cousin a huge favour by taking pressure off global cod stocks.
COOKING / EATING BENEFITS
Sold both fresh and frozen, and occasionally smoked or salted, pollock is an excellent sustainable (and cheaper) alternative to white fish. Its popularity has rapidly increased in recent years due to the overfishing of cod and haddock. It can now be found in most supermarkets as fresh fillets or prepared freezer items and is slowly replacing cod in fish fingers.
Fillets can be cooked with the skin on or off, but if leaving the skin on it’s best to scale the fish before cooking. Pollock will also need pin-boning either before or after cooking. Pollock is delicious grilled with a butter and a herb crust, deep-fried as fish and chips or poached for fish pies and casseroles.
