name: Coalfish Pollock

flavor_db_name_variants: coalfish pollock

source: foodb

status: draft

food_db_id: Coalfish pollock

id: 501

name_scientific: Pollachius virens

description: Saithe, Pollachius virens, is a species of marine fish in the Pollachius genus. Together with Pollachius pollachius it is generally referred to in the U.S. as Pollock. Other names include the Boston blues (separate from bluefish), coalfish (or coley) and saithe in the UK. This species can be separated from P. pollachius by looking at the relative lengths of the upper and lower jaws. P. pollachius has a longer underslung lower jaw while Pollachius virens has approximately equal upper and lower jaw lengths. This gives a very different profile to the head. In general P. pollachius is a brown or golden colour with a dark back while P. virens is bright silver with a very dark green back. P. virens generally appears to have relatively larger eyes. The lateral line of P. pollachius has a noticeable kink over the pectoral fins while that of P. virens is straighter. The flesh of Coalfish (P. virens) is darkly coloured (hence the common name) while that of P. pollachius is similar to other members of the Cod family. This dark colour in the fresh uncooked flesh may have led to the undeserved reputation of this fish as poor for eating. It is common in the northern parts of the Northern Atlantic, including the Bay of Biscay. Adults can grow up to 130 centimetres (51 in) and weigh up to 32 kilograms (71 lb); the species is of great commercial value to fisheries. The fish can be found close to the shore, particularly in rocky areas but larger examples tend to be found around off-shore wrecks and reefs. The largest coalfish ever caught was 50 pounds (23 kg) at Saltstraumen.

itis_id: 164727

wikipedia_id: Pollachius_virens

picture_file_name: 512.jpg

picture_content_type: image/jpeg

picture_file_size: 63164

picture_updated_at: 2012-04-20T09:37:17.000Z

legacy_id: 539

food_group: Aquatic foods

food_subgroup: Fishes

food_type: Type 1

created_at: 2011-02-09T00:37:46.000Z

updated_at: 2019-05-14T18:05:26.000Z

creator_id: null

updater_id: null

export_to_afcdb: false

category: specific

ncbi_taxonomy_id: 8060

export_to_foodb: true

public_id: FOOD00501