Here, you can explore everything there is to know about the fish you know and love – and some you’ve yet to discover. Follow each fish’s journey from sea to plate, and find recipes, nutritional info and much, much more. Plus, learn how we can all play a part in preserving the ocean’s bounty for generations to come.
Ready to dive deep?
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CHAPTER 1
What is
Atlantic cod?Get to know the fish that is know in more countries around the world than probably any other fish and understand why it can be used for a greater variety of preserving and cooking than the most species. For centuries, Atlantic cod has been a basis of nutrition for millions of people and there are so many stories and names for it that even a book has been written about it.
About Atlantic cod
Atlantic cod is known by more people all over the world than any other fish. It can be preserved and cooked in a great variety of ways. It is one of the most important commercial fish, it has been exploited ever since fishing started in the seas of Europe.
Where does
Atlantic cod live?Atlantic cod lives in the North Atlantic Ocean, from North America to the North Sea, the Baltic Sea and north to grounds around Greenland, Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway and the vast areas of the Barents Sea. Where cod is living depends more on prey distribution than ocean temperature. Large fish are found in colder water, from 0-5°C. This species can be found in a variety of habitats, from the shoreline down to great depth, but it is mostly found at depth of 150-200m. Cod are gregarious during the day forming compact schools that swim between 30 and 80 m above the bottom, and scatter at night.
What does
Atlantic cod look like?You always recognize cod by the beard, a unique symbol under the mouth. The head is rather small. The colour of the skin is variable, from brownish to greenish or grey dorsally and on the upper side, pale ventrally. Peritoneum is silvery. The size is not the same in all areas, for example cod in North Sea grows faster than cod living in more northen waters. Three yeaer old fish is on areage 56-59 cm long and a 5-year old fish is 81-85 cm. Cod can often become 1 m long, is known to reach a length of 2 m and it can live to become 30 years old. Atlantic cod is harvested from a size of around 1 kg and up to 15 kg, but it can grow up to 50 kg in weight.
How does
Atlantic cod grow?Time of spawning depends on area, but it can be from December to June. The North East Arctic cod moves from the Barents Sea to the Norwegian coast to spawn, which takes place from February to April. A 5 kg female can produce around 2.5 million eggs and a 15 kg up to 7.5 million eggs and even more. The eggs and larvae live close to the sea surface for the first 2 ½ months when they settle to the bottom. There is little known about the movements of young cod, they can undertake seasonal migration to shallow water during the summer and return to deeper water in the winter. Movement is restricted to feeding. Around the age of 4-5 year they get mature and join the mature fish.
What does
Atlantic cod eat?Larvae and postlarvae feed on plankton, juveniles mainly on invertebrates (animals without a backbone), and older fish also feed on other fish species, including young cod. Small crustaceans are very important in the diet of juveniles (up to 25 cm length). They are progressively replaced by crustaceans of medium and large size. Fish become more important than crustaceans in the diet of older individuals. Other systematic groups play a smaller role as forage organisms: worms, sea urchins, starfish, sea cucumbers and other benthic organisms; and occasionally seaweeds. While the proportion of bottom living organisms shows hardly any change throughout the year, fish consumption varies seasonally. Deep-water cod show preference for herring throughout the summer and autumn (peak June-July), but in winter and during the spawning period, they sustain themselves on mixed food in coastal areas such as capelin.
How is
Atlantic cod used?There is great variety of ways which you can enjoy Atlantic cod. There is long tradition to consume Atlantic cod in many countries, usually based on ways to preserve the cod, such as salting, sugar-salting and drying, in brine or smoked. Fresh cod is of course enjoyed in countries that harvest cod and frozen fillets and portions have grown in popularity as a modern way of preserving the quality was developed and fish can be shore frozen or frozen at sea. The most parts of the cod are consumed, the head, tounge, cheek, eggs, milts and other parts. Fish oil is also a great product.
The name
Atlantic cod is popular across the world – what is it in your language?
Every fish has a Latin (or scientific) name. Atlantic cod’s Latin name is Gadus morhua.What’s Inside
Atlantic cod is an all-round source of nutrition – with high levels of protein but low levels of fat, carbohydrates and cholesterol.
It’s an ideal fish for the whole family, recommended for a regular consumption, and can be eaten regularly by pregnant women and young children.
0%
ProteinOf your daily intake per 100g serving0%
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Vitamin b12CHAPTER 2Where does
Atlantic cod
come from?Atlantic cod’s habitat is the Atlantic Ocean: we catch our Atlantic cod in the pure arctic waters of the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea in the Russian and Norwegian exclusive economic zones.
Our Fishing Grounds
Atlantic cod is found in the bountiful and extensive fishing grounds of the Barents Sea and Norwegian Sea located in the North-West Atlantic Ocean: the second largest ocean on the planet after the Pacific it covers 20% of the Earth’s surface. It is only marginally bigger than half of the Pacific Ocean. The Atlantic boasts a diverse array of sea life. The Atlantic Ocean stretches west to east from America to Europe and Africa. Up north, the Atlantic borders the Arctic Ocean and the Southern Ocean to the south.
Norway and Russia are the only two countries that have access to the Barents Sea, so they exclusively share the stocks of cod, haddock and other fish species. The Barents Sea waters are one of the cleanest in the world. The size of the Barents Sea is ten times bigger than the territory of such countries as Nepal, Greece or Tajikistan. The sea bears the name of the Dutch navigator – Willem Barentsz.
The storms are exceptionally strong in the Barents Sea. They often happen when masses of warm air from the Atlantic Ocean collide with cold air masses from the Arctic Ocean.
Russian scientists make sure species are managed sustainably for future generations. In the last five years, the fishing quota for the Barents Sea has been reduced as advised by the scientists to reflect the cyclic natural changes in the stock.
Our Location
Our fleet is located in Murmansk – the world’s largest city north of the Arctic Circle. Thanks to the warm Gulf Stream current, this Arctic seaport usually remains ice-free 365 days a year. Murmansk maintains its economic activity all year round, making it a significant commercial port for fishery. In 2016 Murmansk celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Murmansk is located in Kola Peninsula that covers some 100,000 square km. Murmansk’s climate is subarctic with short, cool summers and long and severely cold winters. From the beginning of December until the middle of January the polar night reigns over Murmansk, while the summer months are famous for the polar day with predominantly day light. Over 40% of Murmansk territory is occupied by the forests, the area is abundant with lakes and springs.
Our Supplier Fleet
Consists of 10-12 factory trawlers in Murmansk, securing a regular supply of wild-fresh-frozen-at-sea Atlantic cod products. Each vessel has around 50-60 employees on board. The people in Murmansk have vast experience and deep knowledge and understanding in harvesting and processing of seafood. From land to sea our staff rely on their expertise when producing premium quality Atlantic cod product.
M-0349 Kapitan Dolgikh vesselFishing Seasons
Atlantic cod can be harvested all months of the year, from January to December, but there are many areas closed for part of the year during spawning in the spring time. Areas can also be closed if the share of small fish in catches is great.
It is possible to split the year into three periods. At start of the year, harvesting takes place in the Norwegian Sea, when the cod is moving to Lofoten area for spawning. The cod is then large and fishing is good. Around May, the fleet moves into the Barents Sea, quite often around Bear Islands and Spitzbergen. During the summer time, the weather and fishing are good. During the last 4 months of the year, weather is not good and fishing is uncertain, while the fleet moves around in the Barents Sea.
Sustainable
StocksAtlantic cod harvested by our supplier is certified to the MSC fishery standard and our Atlantic cod products have been labelled with the MSC stamp since 2010. MSC certification is internationally recognized as the best confirmation for sustainable fishery.
Sustainable Stocks
The Atlantic cod stock in the Barents Sea is in a very good state and the fishing is based on principles and criteria of sustainability. For the most up to date information about the stock, you can go to the latest report from the ICES, the international organization for the North Atlantic that reviews research and puts forward recommendations for catch, here is a link to the 2019 report.
http://ices.dk/sites/pub/Publication%20Reports/Advice/2019/2019/cod.27.1-2.pdf
Fisheries Management
Fisheries management is an integrated process of information gathering, analysis, planning, consultation, decision-making, allocation of resources and formulation and implementation, with enforcement as necessary, of regulations or rules which govern fisheries activities to ensure the continued productivity of the resources and the accomplishment of other fisheries objectives.
From this description, fisheries management involves a complex and wide-ranging set of tasks, which collectively have the achievement of sustained optimal benefits from the resources as the underlying goal.
Russia has adopted a management system, that is in line with the one practiced in increasing number of other fishery nations. Scientific research of the oceans and fishing stocks has always been very important in Russia and is still the fundament of the fisheries management.
For further information:
Ministry of Agriculture of the Russian Federation.
Federal Agency for Fisheries.
Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO).
Federal Service for Supervision of Nature Resources.The Atlantic cod we harvest is the North East Arctic cod or as it is usually called, Barents Sea cod. The stock is jointly managed by Russia and Norway. Each country researches its part of the cod distribution area, and they present their findings together to the ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) which in June every year, presents its recommendations for annual catch for the coming year, also for Atlantic cod.
To find out more, visit www.ices.dk.
What do Institutes Outside of Russia say About Barents sea cod?
There are independent organizations that follow the state of fish stocks. FishSource is a publicly available online resource about the status of fisheries, fish stocks, and aquaculture. FishSource compiles and summarizes publicly available scientific and technical information and presents it in an easily interpretable form. It was created by Sustainable Fisheries Partnership – https://www.sustainablefish.org/
Here is the latest overview over Atlantic cod and what FishSource says about it.
https://www.fishsource.org/stock_page/1727MSC Certification of our cod Fishery
Our cod fishery has been certified to the MSC Fishery Standard since 24 November 2010. For consumers it means that sustainability and traceability of our cod fishery is assured by this certification. The fishery is annually audited and the audit repost as well as the assessment reports and MSC certificates are available at the MSC website:
https://fisheries.msc.org/en/fisheries/barents-sea-cod-haddock-and-saithe/@@certificates.
When you buy products made of our Atlantic cod they can be labelled by a well-recognized blue logo of MSC.
TAC
The volume that harvesting companies can catch of Atlantic cod in a year is called a TAC, Total Allowable Catch. The decision for the TAC for Atlantic cod is taken annually by the Norwegian and Russian Governments at the meetings of the Joint Russian-Norwegian Fisheries Commission usually in October. The TAC for Atlantic cod is split between Norway and Russia and some other countries that are allowed to catch it.
In Russia, each harvesting company has a share or a quota of the TAC for Russia which they can catch from January to December.
Control
Clear laws and regulations govern commercial fisheries in the Russian EEZ and continental shelf.
There are fishing rights and quotas for all commercial species. Fishing areas, targeted species, fishing season, fishing gear, and legal size of fish are all defined in fisheries regulations – including possible restrictions to protect juveniles and undersized fish with area closures.
In order to protect small fish, regulations set the legal size for each species, the maximum allowed bycatch of undersized fish, and the requirements to use sorting systems to minimize bycatch of small fish.
The Coast Guard enforces fishery regulations – including regular inspections of fishing vessels, satellite tracking of fishing activities and daily reporting of catches to the authorities.
When fish is exported, each lot receives a certificate (Catch Certificate in Europe) to confirm that the products come from legal fisheries. The certificate confirms the vessel had appropriate fishing permits and the ship owner had the necessary quotas to catch and produce such volumes of products.
This document also confirms the route from the fishing grounds to the customer. In addition, a new food safety computer-based system in Russia also secures traceability, legality and safety of fishery products from the catch to the point of export.
Quotas
Annual catch by Russian vessels of North East Arctic cod in the Barents Sea
- 2000: 445,000 MT
- 2008: 449,000 MT
- 2009: 523,000 MT
- 2010: 609,000 MT
- 2011: 719,000 MT
- 2012: 727,000 MT
- 2013: 966,000 MT
- 2014: 986,000 MT
- 2015: 865,000 MT
- 2016: 850,000 MT
- 2017: 868,000 MT
- 2018: 779,000 MT
- 2019: 693,000 MT
- 2020: 693,000 MT
- 2021: 885,600 MT TAC
- Source: FAO, ICES
Fishing
MethodAtlantic cod is a bottom feeding fish. In order to catch it, we need a fishing gear that stays close to the ocean bed. We use a trawl, it has proven to be a good fishing gear to use, and we can catch just the species and sizes that we aim to catch.
Bottom Otter Trawl
Atlantic cod, as well as haddock and saithe, is caught with a type of a trawl called bottom otter trawl (OTB). Trawling is common worldwide due to its efficiency in capturing large numbers of fish. Demersal or bottom trawling covers several gear types, all of which use a cone-like net with a closed end (cod-end) that holds the catch. These nets are towed by the boat and are designed to catch fish living at great depths or on the bottom of the sea.
CHAPTER 3How the
World Enjoys
Atlantic codDiscover why it‘s perfect for everything from fish dried fillets to gourmet loins. Every day, millions of people around the world enjoy Atlantic cod. With a snow-white colour and tender texture, it’s a much loved and delicious fish.
Find out more
How are fillets our produced.
How to defrost and cook fillets. -
CHAPTER 1
What is
Alaska Pollock?Meet one of the world’s most popular fish – and discover where it lives and grows. Learn about Alaska pollock’s nutritious value and why it should become part of your healthy diet.
About Alaska Pollock
Alaska pollock is one of the world’s most popular fish. As the largest groundfish stock for consumption, it’s enjoyed by people all over the world.
Where does
Alaska Pollock live?Alaska pollock lives in the temperate waters of the North Pacific Ocean – an area ranging from Japan to the Sea of Okhotsk, and the Bering Sea to Gulf of Alaska. Alaska pollock is found close to the bottom of the ocean, at a depth of 300-400m.
What does
Alaska Pollock look like?Alaska pollock is a member of the Pacific Ocean cod family. It’s smaller than cod, but has a similar colour and texture to cod. Alaska pollock’s skin is olive green to brown dorsally, often mottled or blotched. It’s silvery on the sides, with pale ventrals and darker fins.
How does
Alaska Pollock grow?Alaska pollock reaches first maturity between three to four years. At this time, Alaska pollock grows to 30 to 38cm in length.
Alaska pollock’s spawning session ranges from two to seven months, depending on the area. In the Straight of Georgia and the Aleutian Basin, Alaska pollock typically spawns from January to March. But spawning happens much later in the northwest of the Privilof Islands than in the southeast, closer to the Bering Sea.
Alaska pollock grows rapidly, and lives for around 14-15 years.
What does
Alaska Pollock eat?Young Alaska pollock feed mainly on small crustaceans (copepods – planktonic or benthic) and their eggs. Adults eat a wide range of seafood, including shrimps, sand lance, herring, salmon (pink, chum and coho), small crustaceans (like mysids and euphausiids) and silver smelt. In Asian waters, adults also feed on capelin.
How is
Alaska Pollock used?Alaska pollock features in over 1,000 products around the globe. It features in many consumer products including fish fingers, ‘Schlemmer’ filets, plain or breaded fillets in bags, and in imitation-crab products made out of surimi.
The name
Alaska pollock has many names – what is it in your language?
Every fish has a Latin (or scientific) name. Alaska pollock’s Latin name is Theragra chalcogramma, but in the USA it’s been changed to Gadus chalcogrammus.What’s Inside
Alaska Pollock is an all-round source of nutrition – with high levels of protein but low levels of fat, carbohydrates and cholesterol.
It’s an ideal fish for the whole family, too, and can be eaten by pregnant women and young children.
0%
ProteinOf your daily intake per 100g serving0%
Fat0%
Vitamin b12CHAPTER 2Where does
Alaska Pollock
come from?Alaska Pollock lives in the Pacific Ocean: we catch our Alaska Pollock in the icy waters of the Kamchatka Sea, off the coast of Russia. It lives close to the bottom of the sea – at between 30-400 metres below the surface.
Our Fishing Grounds
Alaska pollock is found in the rich fishing grounds of the Pacific Ocean: the largest and deepest ocean on earth. The Pacific Ocean contains approximately half the world’s ocean water, and borders three continents in Asia, Australia and America.
Russia is responsible for managing the stocks of Alaska pollock, Pacific cod, squid, herring and other valuable species inside the Russian EEZ in the Pacific Ocean. Russian scientists make sure species are managed sustainably for future generations. Since 1990, the fishing quota for the Pacific Ocean has been halved to prevent overfishing.
Our Location
Our fleet is located in Kamchatka (kămchăt´kə) – or ‘the land of bears’. Kamchatka is a peninsula in the Russian Far East, separating the Sea of Okhotsk in the west from the Bering Sea in the east.
Kamchatka’s climate is cold and humid. There are many lakes, rivers, forests, mineral springs and geysers. The eastern shore is deeply indented by gulfs and bays. Kamchatka is covered with mountain vegetation – apart from in the central valley and west coast, which are covered in peat marshes and tundra-like moss. Surrounding the peninsula’s central valley, drained by the Kamchatka River, are two volcanic ranges with around 120 volcanoes. The highest point in Kamchatka is Klyuchevskaya Sopka (15,600 ft/4,755 m), which is also an active volcano. Petropavlovsk is the main city on Kamchatka.
Our Fleet
We have 10 factory trawlers in Kamchatka, securing a regular supply of wild-fresh-frozen-at-sea Alaska pollock products. Each vessel has around 50-60 employees on board. The people in the Russian Far East have deep knowledge and experience in harvesting and processing seafood.
All our vessels are EU-approved, catching MSC certified fish stocks during November to April in the Sea of Okhotsk. This fishery supplies approximately 50% of the Alaska pollock caught in Russian EEZ, and the industry is working hard to certify other fisheries in the near future.
Fishing Seasons
Sustainable
StocksSince 2013, the Sea of Okhotsk fishery is MSC certified. It was the Russian Pollock Catchers Association (PCA) that applied and got the certification for its member. All harvesting companies within our group are members of PCA and are therefore suppliers of MSC certified Alaska pollock.
Sustainable Stocks
If your Alaska pollock is MSC certified, you can trust it’s from a responsible and sustainable fishery. The Sea of Okhotsk fishery has been MSC certified since 2013. The Russian Pollock Catchers Association applied for certification on behalf of all harvesting companies within our group.
Our MSC certification certifies that:
We only fish at sustainable levels
We minimise our impact on our ecosystem
We comply with all local, national and international lawsOur Sea of Okhotsk fishery supplies over half of all Alaska pollock caught in the Russian EEZ. Our MSC certification number is: F –LRF – 0126 (Preceding certificate number F –ACO – 0058).
View the certificate hereOur stock of Alaska pollock in East Sakhalin and the Navarinsky area of West Bering Sea are next to apply for MSC certification. We make sure all our fisheries – certified and non-certified – are managed in the same responsible and sustainable.
Our International
ReputationVarious international organisations and groups analyse the state of fish stocks – including the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP).
Read the SFP’s reports on Russian Alaska pollock:Sea of Okhotsk – https://www.fishsource.org/stock_page/1820
West Bering Sea – https://www.fishsource.org/stock_page/1821
Navarinsky area – https://www.fishsource.org/stock_page/1819Fisheries Management
Managing a fishery involves gathering information, analysing, planning, consulting, making decisions, and allocating resources. When necessary, it also requires enforcing rules and regulations to make sure resource remain sustainable.
Scientific Advice
and Setting of TACAn increasing number of countries are taking the same approach to fisheries management, including Russia, from scientific research to harvesting.
Fisheries management process in Russia:
Control
Clear laws and regulations govern commercial fisheries in the Russian EEZ and continental shelf.
There are fishing rights and quotas for all commercial species. Fishing areas, targeted species, fishing season, fishing gear, and legal size of fish are all defined in fisheries regulations – including possible restrictions to protect juveniles and undersized fish with area closures.In order to protect small fish, regulations set the legal size for each species, the maximum allowed bycatch of undersized fish, and the requirements to use sorting systems to minimize bycatch of small fish.
The Coast Guard enforces fishery regulations – including regular inspections of fishing vessels, satellite tracking of fishing activities and daily reporting of catches to the authorities.
When fish is exported, each lot receives a certificate (Catch Certificate to Europe) to confirm that the products come from legal fisheries. The certificate certifies the vessel had appropriate fishing permits and the ship owner had the necessary quotas to catch and produce such volumes of products.
This document also confirms the route from the fishing grounds to the customer. In addition, a new food safety computer based system in Russia also secures traceability, legality and safety of fishery products from the catch to the point of export.
Pollock Catchers Association
The Pollock Catchers Association (PCA) was established in 2006. Today it’ s the largest public union in the Russian fishing industry. The PCA includes 32 Russian fishing companies with a total catch of about 1.8 million tonnes of fish and seafood.
Annual Catch
and QuotasAnnual catch of Alaska pollock in the Russian EEZ has been as follows:
- 2008: 1,318,000 MT
- 2009: 1,326,000 MT
- 2010: 1,584,000 MT
- 2011: 1,580,000 MT
- 2012: 1,632,000 MT
- 2013: 1,567,000 MT
- 2014: 1,518,000 MT
- 2015: 1,624,000 MT
- 2016: 1,738,000 MT
- 2017: 1,706,000 MT
- 2018: 1,649,000 MT
- 2019: 1,706,000 MT
- 2020: 1,716,000 MT
- 2021: 1,800,000 MT E
- E=Expected
- Source: FAO
Fishing
MethodMid-water trawls are designed to target pelagic fish, such as Alaska pollock, herring and mackerel. Acoustic technology is used to locate the position and depth of the target fish and the path of the boat(s) and trawls are adjusted accordingly. Mid water trawls have no contact with the seabed.
Mid-Water Pelagic Trawl
Alaska pollock is caught with a mid-water pelagic trawl (OTM) Pelagic (or mid-water) trawls are cone-shaped with a closed ‘cod-end’ to hold the catch.
Pelagic trawls are generally larger than bottom trawls and can be towed by one or two boats – this is called ‘pair trawling’. They are designed to target mid water fish like Alaska pollock, along with surface fish like herring and mackerel.
Acoustic technology is used to locate target fish, and then adjust the path of the vessel. Mid-water trawls have no contact with the seabed.
CHAPTER 3How the
World Enjoys
Alaska PollockDiscover why Alaska pollock is perfect for everything from fish burgers to gourmet fillets. Every day, millions of people around the world enjoy Alaska pollock. With a similar show-white colour and tender texture, it’s a smaller – but just as delicious – relative to cod.
Find out more
How are fillets our produced.
How to defrost and cook fillets.
