Alaska Pollock

The dorsal fins are widely separated. The pelvic fins have a slightly elongated filament. The lateral line is continuous to about the back end of the first dorsal-fin base; it is interrupted at the read of the body. On the head are lateral line pores. Body color is olive green to brown on the back and becomes silvery on the sides and pale ventrally, often with mottled patterns or blotches.

Oviparous, sexes are separate (Ref. 205). Congregate in dense schools to spawn, usually at 50 to 250 m depth.

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 38 - 48; Analspines: 0; Analsoft rays: 33 - 42

Pelagic species which employs different foraging styles under different food distributions (Ref. 30688). Feed mainly on krill. Also feed on zooplankton such as copepod, small shrimp, squid and small fish (Ref. 39882). Cannibalistic (Ref. 43846). Length range, (FL: 10 to 78.1 cm) of walleye pollock consumed by Steller sea lions in Southeast Alaska between 1994 to 1999 (Ref. 53504).

The adults usually live near to the sea floor, but sometimes they also appear near the surface (Ref. 1371). They perform diurnal vertical migrations (Ref. 1371). They mainly feed on krill (Ref. 39882) but they also eat fishes and crustaceans (Ref. 6885). The adults which are spawning are often solely captured for their roe (may have been the case in the first years of the fishery in the U.S., but hasn't been true for some time. In 1994, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council/NOAA enacted an amendment to the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plans effectively banning the practice of stripping roe and discarding the carcasses, R. Rogness, pers.comm. April 2022). The meat is used to produce surimi (this is an imitation of shellfish meat) (Ref. 28499). They are traded as fresh fish, boneless flesh, in frozen blocks or as surimi. The fish is cooked in the microwave, steamed or fried in butter (Ref. 9988).

fisheries: highly commercial; price category: low; price reliability: reliable: based on ex-vessel price for this species