Pollachius pollachius  (Linnaeus, 1758)

Pollack
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Pollachius pollachius
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes (gen., sp.) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Actinopterygii (ray-finned fishes) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Etymology: Pollachius: Scottish dialect, podlock, paddle = bumpfish (Ref. 45335).

Environment / Climate / Range Ecology

Marine; benthopelagic; oceanodromous (Ref. 51243); depth range ? - 200 m (Ref. 6302), usually 40 - 100 m (Ref. 54707).   Temperate; 72°N - 36°N, 25°W - 28°E

Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 130 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); common length : 75.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 1371); max. published weight: 18.1 kg (Ref. 40637); max. reported age: 8 years (Ref. 1371)

Short description Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 29-33; Anal soft rays: 27 - 30; Vertebrae: 52 - 55. Lower jaw distinctly projecting beyond upper ones. Lacks a chin barbel. Dark lateral line that sharply curves over the pectoral fin and continues over whole body. No dark spot at pectoral fin base. Dorsal and anal fin interspaces short. Sensory canals with large pores on head. Body color is variable; dark dorsally, sharply distinguished from silver-gray sides and belly; the upper part of the body with yellow to orange streaks or blotches; the lateral line greenish. The fins uniformly dark except for the pelvic fins which are yellowish.

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Introductions | Faunafri

Northeast Atlantic: Iceland, the Faeroes and Norway to the Bay of Biscay (Ref. 1371); also southern Baltic Sea (Ref. 89342) with records from Poland, Latvia and Estonia (Refs. 36252, 52079).

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Found in inshore waters but also down to 200 m depth, in areas with hard bottoms. Juveniles are pelagic, spending 2-3 years near the coast including rocky areas, kelp beds, sandy shores and estuaries (Ref. 1371, 58137, 89343, 89362). Juveniles may form schools with saithe (Pollachius virens) (Ref. 88187), and have also been found solitary and defending its feeding territory (Refs. 42174, 89363). Larger individuals move to the open sea and are often found around rocky areas at 40-100 m depth (Ref. 1371). Also observed around shipwrecks and oil platforms (Ref. 88187). Occurs singly or in small dispersed shoals but is known to form dense shoals on spawning grounds (Ref. 89364). Suggested to undertake spawning migrations (Ref. 88171). Caught as bycatch in cod and saithe fisheries. Flesh is dry but of good flavor (Ref. 35388). Classified as a “hearing generalist” (89365); has also been found to produce sound. Juveniles have been reported to make repeated short grunts during competitive feeding and aggressive encounters (89366).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p.

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 90363)

  Not Evaluated 

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: commercial; gamefish: yes
FAO(Aquaculture: production; fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FisheriesWiki | Sea Around Us

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Estimates of some properties based on empirical models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82805):  PD50 = 0.7500   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00681 (-0.08868 - 0.10230), b=3.07 (3.01 - 3.14), based on LWR estimates for species & family-BS (Ref. 93245).
Trophic Level (Ref. 69278):  4.2   ±0.7 se; Based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 69278):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (K=0.19; tmax=8).
Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (59 of 100) .
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.