Pollack

What you're looking at

The pollack (Pollachius pollachius) is the rocky-ground gadoid, a hard-fighting cousin of the cod with a longer, more streamlined body, a projecting lower jaw, and an unmistakable dark, sharply-curved lateral line. Found over reefs, wrecks and kelp-fringed coastlines around the UK.

Key features

• Dorsal fins: Three separate dorsals, the gadoid signature.
• Jaw: Lower jaw projects clearly beyond the upper, the opposite of cod. No chin barbel.
• Lateral line: Dark, distinctly curved over the pectoral fin, then dipping back down to run along the body. Almost a hook shape.
• Body: Olive-green to brassy-bronze, often with subtle vertical bars on the upper flanks; pale belly.
• Tail: Forked rather than fanned (cod's tail is more square).
• Size: Shore fish 1–3 kg; 4–6 kg from deep marks and wrecks is common; UK record over 13 kg.

Confusion species

• Cod: Upper jaw projects, chin barbel present, pale and almost-straight lateral line. Heavier shouldered.
• Coalfish (saithe): Also has projecting lower jaw and three dorsals, but a much paler, almost-straight lateral line, and a darker, more slate-grey overall colour. Smaller mouth.
• Whiting: Slimmer, much smaller, no curved lateral line, dark spot at the base of the pectoral.

Where to find them

Rough ground, reefs, kelp gullies, harbour walls, and submerged wrecks. They feed by ambush in the water column rather than on the bottom; a slow-retrieved lure or live sand-eel above the structure is the deadly approach. Best months are late spring through autumn, with the biggest fish coming from deeper wrecks in mid-summer.