Pollack

Cold and temperate sea fish

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Identity card

Pollack

Scientific name:: Pollachius pollachius

Family:: Gadidae

Class:: Actinopterygii

Phylum:: Chordata

Year of description:: Linnaeus, 1758

IUCN Status:: Least Concern

Distribution:: Waters of the north-east Atlantic, from Iceland (rare) and the north of Norway down to Portugal.

Habitat:: The pollack lives between two waters from the coast to a depth of 150 metres.

Size:: The average length of the pollack is between 22 and 75 cm.

Diet:: Fish, crustaceans and cephalopods

Juveniles may make small grunts when hunting.

It feeds mainly on fish, and occasionally on crustaceans and cephalopods. Divers have witnessed pollacks following them to hunt in the sand stirred up by their diving fins.

Did you know?

Where is the animal to be found?

This fish is one of the most common in the Atlantic, the English Channel and the North Sea.

The pollack lives between two waters from the coast to a depth of 150 metres and is usually scattered, but gathers in large shoals at the time of spawning and egg-laying, between February and May depending on the latitude.

How can it be recognised?

You can distinguish the pollack from the saithe mainly by the lateral line that runs from the gills to the tail: it is curved on the pollack and straight on the saithe. It uses this line to sense the vibrations and sounds of other animals. It measures between 22 and 75 cm on average.

What is distinctive about it?

It reaches sexual maturity at the age of 3 years. Spawning takes place from February to March and up to May in northern waters. The female can lay 4 million eggs.