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Pollock (Pollachius virens)

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Species overview

Physical description

Illustration of a brown and yellow Pollock. Refer to physical description.
Illustration of a Pollock (Pollachius virens)

Pollock is a member of the cod family. It has a long body with 3 dorsal fins and a slightly indented tail. Its dorsal area is greenish-brown, fading slightly and becoming yellowish or olive-green on its sides and silver-grey on its underside. It has a pale yellowish lateral line across its body. Pollock has a projecting lower jaw with a small barbel and pointed snout.

Pollock typically grows between 30 to 110 centimetres long and weighs 7 kilograms , though it can weigh up to 32 kg. Pollock can live for up to 23 years, but since the 1980s older and larger Pollock have become less common.

Distribution

Pollock is a semi-pelagic deep-water species. In the North Atlantic Ocean, Pollock ranges from the Hudson Strait to North Carolina. Populations also exist near the southwestern corner of Greenland, and are found from the Barents Sea to the Bay of Biscay and around Iceland.

Within Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) divisions 4VWX5, Pollock is divided into Western (NAFO subdivisions 4Xopqrs+5Yb+5Zc) and Eastern (NAFO subdivisions 4Xmn+4VW) components. Since 2011, growth of the Western component has slowed, and since the 1970s the growth of the Eastern component has also been slowing for unknown reasons.

Life cycle

Pollock prefer water temperatures between 4 and 11ºC, especially as adults. When Pollock spawn, they require very specific temperatures, beginning when waters cool in late fall (8 to 10ºC) and peak in early winter (5 to 6ºC).

Pollock reach sexual maturity between 2 and 6 years old, with most occurring between 3 and 4. After an offshore spawning season in the late fall and early winter, larvae live in the water column before they are big enough to be recruited to coastal waters. Mature Pollock migrate back to offshore waters to spawn again.

Fishery history

Map showing the Canadian Pollock management units in Atlantic Canada.
Map of the Canadian Pollock management unit showing the Western (4Xopqrs5) and Eastern (4VW+4Xmn) components. A dashed line separates Western and Eastern components. A solid line denotes the Canada-USA international boundary.

Pollock is important to commercial fishing and prized by anglers throughout Canada. In the Maritimes, Pollock is harvested as part of a multi-species groundfish fishery alongside:

Most Pollock reach commercial size at age 3 and are able to be caught in the fishery by age 5. Pollock is harvested using:

There is a directed fishery for Pollock in NAFO Unit 4X5. If licence holders fish for other groundfish stocks, they must keep Pollock as bycatch. In NAFO Unit 4X5Y, Pollock is mostly caught as bycatch in some areas, such as 4Xmn. In other areas, such as 4Xpq, Pollock is the target species and bycatch can include:

In the 1990s, Pollock landings in the Maritimes peaked at 40,000 tonnes divided equally between Eastern and Western components. In the early 2000s, Pollock landings all but disappeared in the Eastern component, and landings in the Western component decreased to below 10,000 t. Since the 2011 Management Strategy Evaluation (MSE), catches of Western component Pollock have been below 4,500 t on a yearly basis.

Canadian catches of Pollock from Eastern (red bars) and Western (blue bars) components for fishing years (April 1 to March 31) from 1974 to 2020
Graph of Canadian Pollock catches in metric tonnes (MT). TAC is also represented by a black solid line on the graph. Catch is lower than the TAC line.

The black line indicates combined quota for both components. The dashed blue line indicates the quota for the Western component starting in 2010.

Text version
Canadian catches of Pollock from Eastern (red bars) and Western (blue bars) components for fishing years (April 1 to March 31) from 1974 to 2020
Year Eastern component catch Western component catch Combined TAC Western component TAC
1974 8,232.07 16,716.43 55,000 NA
1975 4,657.17 18,507.66 55,000 NA
1976 7,677.43 15,884.97 55,000 NA
1977 10,389.43 14,229.23 30,000 NA
1978 13,587.85 13,145.6 30,000 NA
1979 15,377.35 14,090.52 30,000 NA
1980 18,429.97 17,101.71 40,000 NA
1981 25,063.77 14,432.46 54,000 NA
1982 18,987.47 18,377.41 55,000 NA
1983 15,864.89 16,696.45 45,000 NA
1984 16,915.56 16,086.2 53,000 NA
1985 20,881.84 20,613.87 53,000 NA
1986 22,809.35 18,449.05 40,000 NA
1987 25,582.73 17,897.2 43,000 NA
1988 21,674.19 19,253.03 43,000 NA
1989 25,774.46 15,091.18 43,000 NA
1990 19,240.05 17,107.86 38,000 NA
1991 18,779.46 19,184.7 43,000 NA
1992 15,065.67 16,942.87 43,000 NA
1993 57,44.21 14,482.33 21,000 NA
1994 41,60.9 11,126.86 24,000 NA
1995 2,512.92 7,268.57 14,500 NA
1996 2,659.77 64,85.34 10,000 NA
1997 2,086.24 9,840.75 15,000 NA
1998 3,805.59 10,565.72 20,000 NA
1999 2,962.83 4,775.19 13,400 NA
2000 891.01 4,765.94 10,000 NA
2001 749.99 5,455.38 10,000 NA
2002 428.35 7,070.55 10,000 NA
2003 268.19 8,052.96 10,000 NA
2004 401.95 8,599.08 10,000 NA
2005 631.45 5,636.11 6,500 NA
2006 457.79 3,773.78 4,500 NA
2007 1,130.43 4,411.78 5,000 NA
2008 1,542.84 3,923.49 5,800 NA
2009 1,113.83 3,911.33 5,900 NA
2010 1,125.64 3,798.24 5,900 5,000
2011 1,416.9 4,033.82 6,900 6,000
2012 486.47 4,417.45 6,400 5,500
2013 209.74 3,338.27 5,440 4,540
2014 208.89 2,945.39 4,672 3,772
2015 126.2 3,459.31 4,381 3,481
2016 101.71 3,192.77 4,681 3,781
2017 57.38 3,194.82 5,297 4,397
2018 71.74 3,119.79 6,037 5,137
2019 227.43 3,029.86 6,924 6,024
2020 158.14 2,032.28 5,619 4,959
2021 566.972547 2064.266574 4,767 4,107
2022 426.320435 2,702.678722 4,767 4,107
2023 291.264386 3,526.134194 4,969 4,309

Ecosystem context

The diet of Pollock has changed over time. Pollock used to feed mainly on fish, but now eat mainly invertebrates, especially squid and shrimp.

Depending on its life stage, Pollock is vulnerable to different predators including:

Changes to the populations of these predators will affect Pollock. Fish harvesters have also noted that Silver Hake competes with Pollock for prey.

Increasing water temperatures across the Scotian Shelf, Bay of Fundy and Georges Bank may influence where Pollock is found and where it spawns, especially when temperatures approach 11ºC. For example, Pollock used to prefer banks on the Scotian Shelf, but now prefer:

Science advice and research

Science advice and research for Pollock

Integrated Fisheries Management Plan

Integrated Fisheries Management Plan for Pollock

Sources

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