Pacific pollack

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Pacific pollack
Alaska Pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) - GRB.jpg

Pacific pollack ( Gadus chalcogrammus )

Systematics
Acanthomorphata
Paracanthopterygii
Order : Cod-like (Gadiformes)
Family : Cod (Gadidae)
Genre : Gadus
Type : Pacific pollack
Scientific name
Gadus chalcogrammus
Pallas , 1814

The Pacific pollack ( Gadus chalcogrammus , syn .: Theragra chalcogramma ), also called pollack or (to differentiate it from the Atlantic or European pollack ) Alaska pollack , is a fish from the cod family . In the trade it is sold almost exclusively under the trade name Alaska pollock .

The habitat of the Pacific Pollack are the coastal areas of the northern Pacific . There the fish lives in schools close to the sea floor, but ascends to near-surface waters in search of food. He reaches heights of up to 105 cm with a weight of about 6 kg. The maximum age is put at 28 years.

Name and delimitation

The name "Alaska pollock" is misleading in so far as this species not to the salmon , to the family of salmonids include ( "trout fish", "Salmon Fish") counts, but one of the cod-like fish. This name (like the coalfish, also known as saithe ) is a historical trade name from the time when cod species were first used as a substitute for salmon . The food industry took over the historical name in order to be able to better market the fish fingers, mostly produced with these fish . The name Pacific Pollack is also ambiguous, as the fish does not belong to the genus Pollachius , but to the cod genus Gadus . Establishing try other trade names, highlight the membership of the cod family, as snow cod (Engl. Snow cod ) or Alaska Seedorsch have not been successful so far. In Germany, the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food is officially prohibited from marketing the fish as cod , despite the fact that it belongs to the cod genus Gadus .

The species is also to be differentiated from the pollack ( Pollachius pollachius ; also Steinköhler , Kalmück or Kohlmaul ) from the cod family and from the coalfish ( Pollachius virens ) from the same genus, which is sold in the trade under the name of saithe . which is also referred to in English as "pollack" or "pollock".

features

In appearance, the Pacific pollack is similar to the other species of the cod genus Gadus , except that it is significantly smaller (a synonymous scientific name is Gadus minor , literally: small cod ). It has an elongated body, on average it reaches a length of 30 to 50 centimeters. Its color is olive green to brown on the back and silvery on the sides. Its characteristic distinguishing feature is a copper-colored, curved side line on the side of the body with a marbled, sometimes blotchy color. His scientific name Gadus chalcogrammus also refers to this, literally: copper line cod ( chalcogrammus from Greek chalcos (copper) and gramma (drawing)). The mottled color is used to camouflage them from predators on the sandy seabed. Due to its oversized, outward-facing eyes compared to its body size, it is also called big-eye pollock (literally big-eye pollack ) or walleye pollock (cross -eyed pollack ).

Way of life

The Pacific pollack is a group fish. The individual fish lives in very large groups, so-called schools, with other individuals. In the group he goes looking for food. Even larger groups of Alaskan pollock come together during spawning, usually in a water depth of 50 to 250 meters.

Pacific pollack lives semi-pelagic, which means that the fish spends part of its life in the open water area (pelagic), the other part near the bottom. The adult fish lives in a water depth of 100 to 300 meters. Adult animals can also be found in surface water. The fish makes vertical migrations in the water every day, following its food. That is, it starts near the sea floor and migrates to the surface at night to feed. Even in summer, when more food, for example zooplankton , collects in the upper part of the water, the Pacific Pollack continues to rise. As he gets older, he spends more time near the ground.

As a juvenile it mainly eats krill, zooplankton and other crustaceans. Adults mainly eat small fish, including young ones of their own species.

The Pacific Pollack is considered particularly fertile. A female lays up to 15 million eggs per year. Pacific pollack is a fast growing fish with a relatively short, average lifespan of 12 years and is therefore particularly productive.

Use as food fish

Economical meaning

In Germany, fish fingers usually consist of fillet of the Pacific pollack ("Alaska pollock").

In the years around 1970 the Pacific Pollack became very important in the fishing industry, which continues to this day. After the Peruvian anchovy , the Pacific pollack forms the basis for the second largest fishery in the world.

In the EU, Germany is the largest buyer of Pacific pollack fillet. In 2018 it accounted for the largest share of total fish consumption in Germany at 18.4% (before salmon with 15.4%) . The consumption in Germany in 2016 was 188,374 tons. Alaska Pollack products are mostly offered frozen in retail stores , especially in the form of fish fingers and gourmet fillets . Another product, which mostly consists of Pacific pollack, is surimi, an imitation crab meat .

Top 5 of the most important edible fish in Germany in percent 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Pacific pollack (trade name: Alaska pollock ) 20.8 22.1 26.0 22.0 21.4 18.3 14.9 16.5 18.4
Salmon 13.0 13.7 15.0 20.0 22.0 20.5 18.2 16.7 15.4
Tuna , Boniten 10.1 11.3 10.9 13.2 12.4 14.1 9.8 12.9 14.4
herring 20.0 19.1 18.1 16.8 14.7 15.9 15.7 13.9 13.6
Trout 4.9 4.2 3.4 5.5 5.9 6.2 5.4 5.8 6.3

Stocks and catches

Global catches of Pacific pollack ( FAO figures , 1950–2014).

Four stocks of the Pacific Pollack are recorded and are being fished.

In the Northeast Pacific fishing area (FAO 67):

  • Eastern Bering Sea with a biomass of 4,600,000 tons and a catch amount of 1,321,600 tons (2016).
  • Gulf of Alaska with a biomass of 363,800 tons and a catch of 167,600 tons (2016).

In the Northwest Pacific Fishing Area (FAO 61):

Fishing methods

Pacific pollack is caught using pelagic trawls .
Model of a pelagic trawl

Since the Pacific Pollack occurs in large swarms in the open water, the so-called pelagic area of ​​the ocean ( pelagial ), pelagic trawls ( swimming trawls ) designed for this area are used. This gear is designed for use in the central part of the water body, away from the seabed. They are considered to be gentle on the marine environment. Bottom trawls , however, are banned and not used in the Alaska pollock fisheries certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council .

In all wild fisheries it is possible to catch fish other than the species targeted. However, the Alaska pollock fishery in Alaska (FAO 67 fishing area) has one of the lowest bycatch rates in the world with a constant 1 percent. 99 percent of the catch here consists of the specifically fished species (Pacific pollack).

Sustainability and certification

The two US fisheries in the Northeast Pacific have been certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) since 2005 . This makes them one of the very first MSC-certified fisheries. Russian fisheries in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk have been MSC certified since 2013.

Despite the MSC certification, Greenpeace has been calling since autumn 2009 not to buy or consume any Pacific pollack or products labeled “Alaska pollock” because of overfishing . However, this assessment does not go unchallenged - according to official sources such as the Thünen Institute of the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture , all stocks of the Pacific Pollack are said to be in good condition.

Nutritional values

Pacific pollack is a low-fat food fish . has a protein content of 23.5 grams with a fat content of 0.8 grams. Despite the low fat content, Pacific Pollack contains a comparatively large amount of omega-3 fatty acids , namely 0.3 grams per 100 grams of fish.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Federal Office for Food and Agriculture: Directory of trade names for fishery and aquaculture products .
  2. ↑ a b c d e Gadus chalcogrammus fish stocks online - information portal of the Thünen Institute of Baltic Sea Fisheries, accessed on September 25, 2016.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f Pacific Pollack on Fishbase.org (English), accessed May 17, 2020.
  4. ^ Walleye pollock NOAA Fisheries Service - Alaska Fisheries Science Center, accessed November 16, 2015.
  5. ↑ Heidi Driesner: (K) a fish turns 60. n-tv , October 3, 2015, archived from the original on December 6, 2016 ; Retrieved February 20, 2017 .
  6. ↑ RP Online: Pollack - the invented fish. April 3, 2013, accessed February 20, 2017 .
  7. ^ Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: Whitefish Buyers Guide . (Memento of the original from September 26, 2006 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ↑ Sainsbury's gives unfashionable pollack a makeover
  9. ↑ a b c NOAA (ed.) (2014): Alaska Pollock . In: FishWatch.
  10. ↑ a b c d Thünen Institute / Fish Stocks Online: Fish stocks of Alaska pollock .
  11. ↑ Fish Information Center (2019): Infographic fish market favorites in Germany , accessed on August 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ Fischwirtschaft - Facts and Figures 2019 (PDF) Retrieved on September 4, 2019 .
  13. ^ Theragra chalcogramma (Pallas, 1811) FAO, Species Fact Sheet. Retrieved January 27, 2018.
  14. ^ Thünen-Institut / Fischbestände Online: Alaska pollock in the eastern Bering Sea .
  15. ^ Thünen Institute / Fish Stocks Online: Alaska Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska .
  16. ^ Thünen Institute / Fish Stocks Online: Alaska Pollock in the Sea of ​​Okhotsk .
  17. ^ A b Marine Stewardship Council : Alaska Pollock .
  18. ↑ a b ZEIT / Marcus Rohwetter (June 2, 2005): Clean saithe .
  19. ↑ WWF / Katja Graf (June 11, 2019): What are fish fingers actually made of? .
  20. ↑ tk-report (January 2016): Alaska pollock again MSC-certified .
  21. ↑ Fischmagazin (February 11, 2013): Alaska pollock: "Hardly any market relevance for Russian MSC Pollack before 2014" .
  22. ↑ Eat Smarter: Alaska Pollock Infographic .

Web links

Commons : Gadus chalcogrammus  - collection of images, videos and audio files