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Species Directory

Alaska Pollock

Overview Science Resources

Alaska Pollock

Gadus chalcogrammus

Alaska pollock illustration
Also Known As
Pollock, Walleye pollock, Pacific pollock

Quick Facts

Region
Alaska
Fish Watch. U.S. Seafood Facts Logo
walleye-pollock-noaa.jpg

Alaska pollock

Alaska pollock

About The Species

Alaska pollock—also known as walleye pollock—is a key species in the Alaska groundfish complex and a target species for one of the world's largest fisheries. Pollock is a semipelagic schooling fish widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean with largest concentrations in the eastern Bering Sea.

U.S. wild-caught Alaska pollock is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.

Population Status Icon

Population Level

Above target population levels.

Fishing Status Icon

Fishing Status

At recommended levels.

Habitat Impacts Icon

Habitat Impacts

The Alaska pollock fishery uses midwater trawl nets that, although sometimes making contact with the bottom, have minimal impact on habitat.

Bycatch Icon

Bycatch

The Alaska pollock fishery is one of the cleanest in terms of incidental catch of other species (less than 1 percent).

Status

  • The 2018 stock assessments for the Aleutian Islands, Eastern Bering Sea, and Western/Central/West Yakutat Gulf of Alaska indicate that pollock stocks are not overfished.
  • In the eastern Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, pollock spawning biomass is estimated to be above the target level.
  • To assess the health of the pollock population, scientists estimate the female spawning biomass—a measure of the pollock stock’s ability to reproduce.
  • Regulations for the pollock fishery aim to conserve the spawning population to ensure pollock can successfully reproduce and keep the population size at healthy levels.
  • The overfished status for the Bogoslof and Southeast Gulf of Alaska stocks is unknown. These areas are also closed to fishing for pollock with trawl gear.
  • No stocks are currently subject to overfishing.

 

Appearance

  • Pollock is a member of the cod family.
  • They can grow as long as 3 feet but typically reach lengths between 12 and 20 inches and weigh between 1 and 3 pounds.
  • They have speckled coloring that helps them blend in with the seafloor to avoid predators.

Biology

  • Alaska pollock grow fast and have a relatively short life span of about 12 years.
  • As a result, they are generally more productive compared to slower growing, longer living species.
  • Some pollock begin to reproduce by the age of 3 or 4 and are extremely fertile, so each generation replaces aging or harvested fish in just a few years.
  • In the spring, pollock migrate inshore to shallow water to breed and feed.
  • They move back to warmer, deeper waters in the winter months.
  • The survival of young pollock depends on several factors, such as the availability of food, environmental conditions, and predation.
  • Their survival rate is highly variable, which can potentially cause large fluctuations in the abundance of pollock in a matter of a few years.
  • Juvenile pollock eat zooplankton (tiny floating animals) and small fish.
  • Older pollock feed on other fish, including juvenile pollock.
  • Many other species—including Steller sea lions and other marine mammals, fish, and seabirds—feed on pollock and rely on them for survival.

Where They Live

  • Alaska pollock are found throughout the North Pacific Ocean but are most common in the Bering Sea.

Management

  • NOAA Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council manage the Alaska pollock fishery.
  • Managed under the Groundfish Fishery Management Plans for the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands: 
    • The Alaska pollock fishery is a great example of how science-based management and monitoring can help ensure the long-term sustainability of the resource.
    • The Bering Sea fishery is one of the first U.S. fisheries to be managed with catch shares and is often considered one of the best-managed fisheries in the world.

Featured News

Elizabeth Siddon, recipient of the 2019 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
Feature Story

Meet Elizabeth Siddon, One of This Year’s PECASE Winners

Alaska
750x500-AlaskaPollockSpawningSeason.jpg
Feature Story

Alaska Pollock Spawning Season May be Earlier Under Climate Change

Alaska
Pollock
Feature Story

Young Pollock Survival Better Than Expected During Most Recent Bering Sea Warm Phase

Alaska
Bering Sea Pollock Study Graphic
Feature Story

Changes in Bering Sea Pollock Over 34 Years

Alaska
View More News

Related Species

Atlantic pollock

Atlantic Pollock

pacific cod illustration

Pacific Cod

Pacific Whiting

Recreational Fishing Regulations

Commercial Fishing Regulations

Science

Alaska Walleye Pollock Research in Alaska

 
WalleyePollockResearch2.jpg

Research and management of Alaska walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) stocks is considered to be world-class and an example of how science-based management can ensure sustainability. Scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center collect and analyze the data that managers need to set sustainable catch limits.

Surveying Pollock Populations

We gather information about the number, location, and age of pollock in Alaskan waters during annual surveys using acoustic technology, midwater trawls, and bottom trawls. These data are combined with information collected by fishery observers.

Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska, eastern Bering Sea, and Aleutian Islands are managed as separate stocks based on the results of genetic studies, biological characteristics, and analyses of larval drift patterns from spawning locations.

Early Life Studies

We study factors affecting young pollock survival to recruitment (when they reach a size available to the fishery at around 3 years old). These survival rates can vary dramatically from one year to the next and this affects pollock populations, posing challenges for the fishery and fishery managers. Scientists have linked these ups and downs to variability in environmental conditions during the early life of pollock.

Understanding how young pollock respond to environmental changes helps scientists understand and communicate future uncertainty in population size and hence size of eventual fishing quotas to managers, the public, and fishery stakeholders.

Age and Growth

We determine the age of individual fish to provide data for age-structured modeling of populations and continue to develop new techniques to age walleye pollock.

An Ecosystem Approach

Environmental factors affect walleye pollock populations in the Eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska. Prey availability and the number of fish, seabird, and marine mammal predators and their spatial overlap with pollock also have a large impact. Comprehensive scientific observer coverage aboard commercial fishing vessels closely monitors catch and bycatch to help gauge possible impacts of humans and the fishery on the ecosystem. Our scientists work closely with industry and managers to mitigate potential adverse impacts through a variety of conservation and management measures, and by developing appropriate gear modifications.

Each year, a comprehensive ecosystem status report on climate and fishing is compiled in Ecosystem Assessments and Report Cards. These reports are an important step towards achieving the ecosystem-based management goals of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council: to maintain predator-prey relationships, diversity, and habitat, and to monitor effects of climate change.

WalleyePollockResearch3.jpg

Walleye pollock. Photo: NOAA Fisheries.

Assessing Past, Present, and Future Pollock Stocks

We create Stock Assessment and Fishery Evaluation (SAFE) reports to summarize the best available scientific information concerning the past, present, and possible future condition of stocks, marine ecosystems, and fisheries that are managed under Federal regulation, including the walleye pollock fishery. These reports provide information to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council for determining annual harvest levels from each stock; documenting significant trends or changes in the resource, marine ecosystems, and fishery over time; and assessing the relative success of existing state and Federal fishery management programs.

Research & Data

2018 Climate-Enhanced Multi-Species Stock Assessment for Walleye Pollock, Pacific Cod, and Arrowtooth Flounder in the Eastern Bering Sea

Multi-species statistical catch-at-age models (MSCAA) are an example of a class of multi-species ‘Models with Intermediate Complexity for Ecosystem assessments’ (i.e., MICE; Plagányi et al., 2014), which have particular utility in addressing both
February 14, 2019 - Assessments ,
Alaska

2018 Assessment of the Walleye Pollock Stock in the Eastern Bering Sea

This chapter covers the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) region—the Aleutian Islands region (Chapter 1A) and the Bogoslof Island area (Chapter 1B) are presented separately.
February 07, 2019 - Assessments ,
Alaska

2018 Assessment of the Walleye Pollock Stock in the Gulf of Alaska

The base model projection of female spawning biomass in 2019 is 345,352 t, which is 62.4% of unfished spawning biomass (based on average post-1977 recruitment) and above B40% (221,000 t), thereby placing GOA pollock in sub-tier “a” of Tier 3. New survey
January 30, 2019 - Assessments ,
Alaska

2018 Assessment of Walleye Pollock in the Bogoslof Island Region

Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) are broadly distributed throughout the North Pacific with largest concentrations found in the Eastern Bering Sea. The Bogoslof region is noted for having distinct spawning aggregations that appear to be independent
January 29, 2019 - Assessments ,
Alaska
View More

More Information

  • Ecosystem Status Reports
  • Recruitment Processes Program
  • Fisheries Interaction Team
  • Status of Stocks and Multispecies Assessments
  • Alaska Groundfish Survey Data Map
  • Age and Growth Procedures for Otolith Examination
  • Age Reading Interactive Demonstration
  • Fish Species Maximum Age Data
  • North Pacific Groundfish Stock Assessments
  • Groundfish Catch Percentage and Value
  • Resource Ecology and Ecosystem Modeling, Number of Stomachs Database
  • Alaska Ichthyoplankton Information System Database

Documents

Document

Aleutian Islands Pollock Program Cost Recovery for Fishing Year 2018

A report summarizing costs directly related to management of the Aleutian Islands Pollock fishery…

Alaska
Document

2018 Status of Alaska Marine Ecosystems Considerations - Eastern Bering Sea Report in Brief

The eastern Bering Sea was characterized by anomalously warm conditions in 2018. Over the northern…

Alaska
Document

2018 Assessment of the Walleye Pollock Stock in the Gulf of Alaska

The base model projection of female spawning biomass in 2019 is 345,352 t, which is 62.4% of…

Alaska
Document

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Surveys in the Arctic: Preliminary Findings from Summer/Fall 2018 UPDATED OCTOBER 24, 2018

Outreach product containing highlights and preliminary findings for 2018 Arctic research surveys.

Alaska
More Documents

Data & Maps

Data

2018 Climate-Enhanced Multi-Species Stock Assessment for Walleye Pollock, Pacific Cod, and Arrowtooth Flounder in the Eastern Bering Sea

Multi-species statistical catch-at-age models (MSCAA) are an example of a class of multi-species …

Alaska
Data

2018 Assessment of the Walleye Pollock Stock in the Eastern Bering Sea

This chapter covers the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) region—the Aleutian Islands region (Chapter 1A)…

Alaska
Data

2018 Assessment of the Walleye Pollock Stock in the Gulf of Alaska

The base model projection of female spawning biomass in 2019 is 345,352 t, which is 62.4% of…

Alaska
Data

2018 Assessment of Walleye Pollock in the Bogoslof Island Region

Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) are broadly distributed throughout the North Pacific with…

Alaska
More Data and Maps

Research

Ecosystem Status Reports for the Gulf of Alaska, Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands

The goals of the Ecosystem Status Reports are to provide stronger links between ecosystem research and fishery management and spur new understanding of the connections between ecosystem components by bringing together the results of diverse research

Alaska
More Research
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