Skip to main content

Alaska pollock

The go-to ingredient for McDonald’s Filet-O-Fish and one of the most widely eaten wild caught fish in the world, Alaska Pollock, also known as walleye pollock, is the fourth highest selling MSC species in the UK and Ireland, after cod, haddock and northern prawn.

“Never mind the cod... now we want pollock with our chips” ran a headline in a British newspaper in spring 2023. The article indicated that a pack of pollock fish fingers were a lot cheaper than its cod equivalent and were proving popular with thrifty shoppers. Pollock is also low in fat and high in protein and vitamin B12, which contributes to a healthy immune system function.

How many species of Alaska pollock are there?

Pollock is a member of the cod family. Alternate names include snow cod, bigeye cod, and copperline cod. Norwegian pollock is said to be the same species as Alaska pollock, differing only in its geography.

Where do most of the MSC Alaska pollock we eat in the UK come from?

The majority (98 per cent) of MSC Alaska pollock comes from North Pacific fisheries in the North Pacific including the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea.

What type of MSC products are available in the UK?

Over three quarters of MSC Alaska Pollock sold in the UK is in a frozen prepared format – generally as fish fingers, for brands such as Birds Eye or retailers’ own lines.

Aldi, Lidl, Co-op, Tesco, Sainsbury’s all sell own-brand MSC Alaska pollock fish fingers, while Waitrose, Iceland, and IKEA all sell similar breaded MSC fish products containing Alaska pollock.

Historical bite

Back in the 1980s, there was very little demand for Alaska pollock until a handful of seafood distributors in the US saw its potential as a cheaper alternative to cod. Demand for pollock only increased when the Grand Banks cod fishery in Canada collapsed in the early Nineties due in large part to decades of overfishing. As a result, Northern cod populations fell to 1 per cent of historical levels. This event was a catalyst for the founding of the Marine Stewardship Council in 1997.

More of what you can do