If you have ever eaten a fish stick, then you have probably had Alaska pollock. This popular, mild tasting fish adapts well to many different cooking methods and flavors.

In addition to fish sticks and other breaded or battered fish products, Alaska pollock is used to make imitation crab, shrimp and scallop meat. With this range of appeal and demand, it comes as no surprise that Alaska pollock is the largest commercial fishery in the world. Try Alaska pollock pan seared with red peppers and squash or breaded and served with a caper aioli.

Also known as:

 Alaska pollock, walleye pollock, bigeye pollock, bigeye cod, snow cod, whiting, tomcod and Pacific pollock.

Availability:

 Frozen year round; fresh and frozen during fall and winter

Product forms:

 Fillets, frozen and fresh; surimi (imitation crab meat)

Shopping tips:

 Look for fillets that were frozen at sea—these will be higher quality than the fillets frozen in shore-based processing plants. If you are shopping for imitation crab, shrimp or scallop meat, look for a variety with a high fish content, and no corn starch.

Substitutions:

 Alaska pollock can be used as a substitution for any whitefish, including Atlantic cod, Atlantic pollock, flounder or sole.

Recipes:

Crispy wild-caught Alaska pollock with cornichon and caper aioli

Pan-seared wild-caught Alaska pollock with red pepper fumet and fire-roasted delicata squash
Pollock fishery: Alaska pollock is typically fished using pelagic or mid-water trawl nets. More.

Conservation notes:

 Alaska pollock is considered an ocean-friendly seafood choice because it is a fast-growing fish and the fishing gear used does not cause significant habitat destruction. More.
Last updated: April 2008

Pollock Fishery

Alaska pollock is typically fished using pelagic or mid-water trawl nets. These large rope or mesh nets are pulled through the water by fishing boats. Since the pelagic trawl gear is fishing for pollock that are swimming off of the ocean floor, these nets have less contact with the ocean bottom, and therefore have less damaging impacts on the bottom habitat. This means this type of fishing gear does not typically cause habitat destruction.

Most U.S.-caught Alaska pollock is harvested from the Bering Sea, with a smaller amount caught in the Gulf of Alaska.

Conservation Notes

Some fishes grow very slowly, which means their populations do not recover quickly when they are overfished. Since Alaska pollock is a fast-growing species, it can handle a relatively high amount of fishing pressure without risking the population’s survival.

Many types of commercial fishing gear can cause significant habitat destruction, or may catch large numbers of unwanted fishes and other animals. The pelagic and mid-water trawl gear used to catch Alaska pollock is highly efficient, and has a very low rate of bycatch relative to the amount of harvested pollock. Since the fishing gear is pelagic, it has less contact with the seafloor than bottom trawls, which are dragged continuously across the bottom. This significantly reduces the risk of habitat destruction.