Editing Pollock (section)

== As food ==
{{common fish}}
[[File:Time series for global capture of all pollock.png|thumb|300px|right|{{center|Global commercial capture of pollock in million tonnes 1950–2010<ref name=FAOdata>Based on data sourced from the relevant [http://www.fao.org/fishery/species/search/en FAO Species Fact Sheets]</ref>}}]]
[[File:Global total production pollock.png|thumb|160px|right|{{center|The total capture of pollock in 2010 as reported by the FAO was {{convert|3.2|e6tonne|e6ST|abbr=off}}.<ref name=FAOdata />}}]]
[[Atlantic pollock]] is largely considered to be a [[Whitefish (fisheries term)|whitefish]]. Traditionally a popular source of food in some countries, such as [[Norway]], in the United Kingdom it has previously been largely consumed as a cheaper and versatile alternative to [[Cod as food|cod]] and [[haddock]]. However, in recent years,{{when|date=August 2019}} pollock has become more popular due to overfishing of [[cod]] and haddock. It can be found in most supermarkets as fresh fillets or prepared freezer items. For example, it is used minced in [[Fishstick|fish fingers]] or as an ingredient in [[Crab stick|imitation crab meat]] and is commonly used to make [[fish and chips]].

Because of its slightly grey colour, pollock{{which|date=January 2021}} is often prepared, as in Norway, as fried [[Fish ball|fish balls]], or if juvenile-sized, breaded with [[oatmeal]] and fried, as in [[Shetland]]. Year-old fish are traditionally split, salted, and dried over a peat hearth in [[Orkney]], where their texture becomes wooden.{{clarify|date=November 2017}} Coalfish can also be salted and smoked and achieve a [[salmon]]-like orange color (although it is not closely related to the salmon), as is the case in Germany, where the fish is commonly sold as ''Seelachs'' or sea salmon.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Verzeichnis der Handelsbezeichnungen für Erzeugnisse der Fischerei und Aquakultur |trans-title=Catalog of Trade Names for Fishery and Aquaculture Products |url=https://www.ble.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Fischerei/Fischwirtschaft/HandelsbezeichnungDLat.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=24 |access-date=May 18, 2025 |publisher=German Federal Office for Agriculture and Food |language=German}}</ref>

In 2009, UK supermarket [[Sainsbury's]] briefly renamed Atlantic pollock "colin" in a bid to boost ecofriendly sales of the fish as an alternative to cod.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/business/2009/apr/06/sainsburys-pollack-colin-fish-stocks|title=A colin and chips? Sainsbury's gives unfashionable pollack a makeover|website=The Guardian|first1=Rebecca|last1=Smithers|date=5 April 2009}}</ref> Sainsbury's, which said the new name was derived from the French for cooked pollock ([[:fr:Colin (poisson)|''colin'']]), launched the product under the banner "Colin and chips can save British cod."

{{further|Mercury in fish}}
Pollock is regarded as a "low-[[Mercury (element)|mercury]] fish" – a woman weighing {{cvt|60|kg}} can safely eat up to {{convert|18|oz|g|order=flip|abbr=on}} per week, and a child weighing {{cvt|20|kg}} can safely eat up to {{convert|6|oz|g|order=flip|abbr=on}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.consumerreports.org/food-safety/safe-fish-for-pregnant-women/|title=Which Fish Are Safe for Pregnant Women?|website=[[Consumer Reports]] |date=2017-01-27 |access-date=2019-03-01}}</ref>