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Gadus chalcogrammus Pallas, 1814

Alaska pollock
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Gadus chalcogrammus   AquaMaps   Data sources: GBIF OBIS
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Image of Gadus chalcogrammus (Alaska pollock)
Gadus chalcogrammus
Picture by Archipelago Marine Research Ltd.

Canada country information

Common names: Goberge de l'Alaska, Walleye pollock, Whiting
Occurrence: native
Salinity: marine
Abundance: common (usually seen) | Ref: Hart, J.L., 1973
Importance: minor commercial | Ref: FAO, 1994
Aquaculture: | Ref:
Regulations: | Ref:
Uses: no uses
Comments: Recorded from the Pacific coast (Ref. 6885). Taken by trawls in the Strait of Georgia and sold as mink feed (Ref. 4925); minimal market value as a food fish (Ref. 6885). Also Ref. 1371, 6793, 4925, 91783 93933, 95148. In range Ref. 2850.
National Checklist:
Country Information: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/ca.html
National Fisheries Authority: http://www.ncr.dfo.ca/home_e.htm
Occurrences: Occurrences Point map
Main Ref: Hart, J.L., 1973
National Database:

Common names from other countries

Lieu de l'Alaska, Colín de Alaska, قدّيّة ألاسكا, ... more

Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gadiformes (Cods) > Gadidae (Cods and haddocks)
Etymology: Gadus: Latin, gadus = a fish, cod? (Ref. 45335);  chalcogrammus: Name from the Greek 'chalcos' meaning brass and 'gramma' meaning mark (Ref. 6885).
  More on author: Pallas.

Issue
This species is placed in the genus Gadus in Eschmeyer (CofF ver. Jan. 2012: Ref. 89336). More studies are needed for a complete revision of all genera of Gadidae.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Marine; brackish; benthopelagic; non-migratory; depth range ? - 1280 m (Ref. 50550), usually 30 - 400 m (Ref. 54255).   Polar; 68°N - 34°N, 129°E - 120°W (Ref. 54255)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

North Pacific: from Kivalina, Alaska, to the southern Sea of Japan and to Carmel, California, USA. The occurrence off the northern part of Baja California (Mexico), as reported from Quast and Hall, (1972) (Ref. 6876) is apparently erroneous.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 36.9  range ? - ? cm
Max length : 91.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 2850); max. published weight: 3.9 kg (Ref. 56335); max. reported age: 28 years (Ref. 55701)

Short description Identification keys | Morphology | Morphometrics

Dorsal spines (total): 0; Dorsal soft rays (total): 38 - 48; Anal spines: 0; Anal soft rays: 33 - 42. The dorsal fins are widely separated. The pelvic fins have a slightly elongated filament. The lateral line is continuous to about the back end of the first dorsal-fin base; it is interrupted at the read of the body. On the head are lateral line pores. Body color is olive green to brown on the back and becomes silvery on the sides and pale ventrally, often with mottled patterns or blotches.

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

The adults usually live near to the sea floor, but sometimes they also appear near the surface (Ref. 1371). They perform diurnal vertical migrations (Ref. 1371). They mainly feed on krill (Ref. 39882) but they also eat fishes and crustaceans (Ref. 6885). The adults which are spawning are often solely captured for their roe (may have been the case in the first years of the fishery in the U.S., but hasn't been true for some time. In 1994, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council/NOAA enacted an amendment to the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska Fishery Management Plans effectively banning the practice of stripping roe and discarding the carcasses, R. Rogness, pers.comm. April 2022). The meat is used to produce surimi (this is an imitation of shellfish meat) (Ref. 28499). They are traded as fresh fish, boneless flesh, in frozen blocks or as surimi. The fish is cooked in the microwave, steamed or fried in butter (Ref. 9988).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturities | Reproduction | Spawnings | Egg(s) | Fecundities | Larvae

Oviparous, sexes are separate (Ref. 205). Congregate in dense schools to spawn, usually at 50 to 250 m depth.

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator | Collaborators

Cohen, D.M., T. Inada, T. Iwamoto and N. Scialabba, 1990. FAO species catalogue. Vol. 10. Gadiform fishes of the world (Order Gadiformes). An annotated and illustrated catalogue of cods, hakes, grenadiers and other gadiform fishes known to date. FAO Fish. Synop. 125(10). Rome: FAO. 442 p. (Ref. 1371)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Not Evaluated 

CITES (Ref. 128078)

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless




Human uses

Fisheries: highly commercial
FAO(Fisheries: production, species profile; publication : search) | FishSource | Sea Around Us

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Internet sources

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Estimates based on models

Preferred temperature (Ref. 115969): 0.4 - 5.6, mean 1.6 (based on 444 cells).
Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.6250   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00631 (0.00550 - 0.00723), b=3.03 (2.99 - 3.07), in cm Total Length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.1 se; based on diet studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Low, minimum population doubling time 4.5 - 14 years (Musick et al. 2000 (Ref. 36717); tmax = 28).
Prior r = 0.29, 95% CL = 0.19 - 0.44, Based on 16 full stock assessments.
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  High vulnerability (59 of 100).
Climate Vulnerability (Ref. 125649):  High vulnerability (55 of 100).
Price category (Ref. 80766):   Low.