Products | Fresh and Frozen | Alaska Pollock

Alaska Pollock

(Theragra chalcogramma)

Physical characteristics: The Alaska pollock is a soft-finned fish that shares many of the same traits and qualities of the pacific cod. It is smaller than the pacific cod, but visually looks similar with its brownish-green mottled back, white sides and belly. Also like the cod, it has three distinct back (dorsal) fins and two distinct bottom (ventral) fins. The Alaska pollock, however, lacks the distinctive barbell or "whisker" on the end of their lower jaw that the cod displays. Pollock usually range in size from one to four pounds, dressed.

Seasonality: In Alaska, pollock is typically fished in January and September in the Bering Sea, and in January, June and September in the Gulf of Alaska. Alaska also has smaller "C.D.Q." (citizen development quotas) that can be fished for steadily through the summer months. Canadian, Washington and Oregon pollock fisheries have a more steady production through the year, but produce far less tonnage than Alaska.

Major catch areas: Alaska, Canada, Washington, Oregon, Russia, Korea, Japan.

Harvest method: Virtually all pollock is trawl (net) caught.

Product forms:

• Fresh: Pollock is a much more fragile fish than the pacific cod, so little is sold fresh. It is occasionally sold, however, as fresh fillets, either skin-on or skin-off, and either bone-in or boneless. Fresh fillets are "candled" or scrutinized on a light table before packing to detect any nematodes or cysts that need to be removed. Other fresh product forms include dressed headless and round (not dressed).
• Frozen: Most common product forms are fillets, either boneless or bone-in, graded under 2 ounce, 2-4 ounce, 4-6 ounce and 6-8 ounce. Fillets can be packed either IQF, shatter-pack or layer pack. Pollock blocks (frozen blocks of fillets and fillet pieces) are also sold for further processing, as is pollock mince (fine pieces or flakes of flesh removed from the carcasses after filleting). Both block and mince are re-processed into breaded products. Fillet pieces or small fillets are also made into surimi, the building block for imitation crab products and other analog items.
• Value-added: Breaded items (nuggets, fish sticks, fish burgers). From surimi come a myriad of analogs such as imitation crab, scallops and lobster.

Flavor/texture profile: Pollock has a mild delicate flavor and soft texture. It is lean with a low fat content, and has a smaller flake than cod. Meat is white when cooked.

Notes: More Alaska pollock is caught each year than all other species of Alaskan seafood combined. This is a far cry from the earlier part of this century when pollock was virtually unknown and certainly not recognized as a potentially huge food source. While most pollock goes into surimi, fillets and fresh products have gained a very good foothold in foodservice and retail applications. While maintaining a price below cod products, it's value can increase significantly in times of cod shortages. Some pollock is shipped round to Korea and China for re-processing into fillet for re-shipment into the U.S. markets. Such double-frozen fillets are lower in quality than single-frozen production, and occupy a different and lower market niche.