Alaska's Pollock Fishery: A Model of Sustainability

[@brendanhoffmann8402]

I even eat Alaska pollock here in southern Australia, we get it shipped in. It's very cheap. I love it, a classic mild flavour.

[@treasuretrails]

Eating some right now here in New Zealand, damn good fish.

[@jeffyoung60]

Ha, ha, ha! A 1973 encyclopedia described Pollack as a weak-fleshed fish of little commercial value. That was when cod and halibut were still in relative plentiful supply. But in the 1980s those fish populations began crashing due to over-fishing. It wasn't a waste. There was just too much demand and not enough survivable populations. Then the ingenious Japanese discovered that Pollack could readily substitute for cod and halibut in traditional fish processing manufacturing industry. The cat was out of the bag quickly. At the time the estimated population of Pollack in the Bering Sea was something around an astronomical 30 billion. It greatly helped that Pollack breed like rabbits. It greatly helped that there's over 700 boat wrecks lying at the bottom of the stormy Bering Sea and surrounding ocean. It makes for wonderful, safe breeding grounds for Pollack. Everyone wanted to get in on the new, nearly limitless bounty of Pollack. Pollack was plentiful and cheaper than the declining cod and halibut. The United States is in the best geographical location to exploit the Pollack populations. Russia came in next. But everyone remembers the Passenger Pigeon catastrophe where nothing is really limitless. So wise government fishing restrictions were quickly put into place, helping to preserve Pollack populations at a steady 12 to 15 billion, enough to keep the population going while still freeing up huge quantities of Pollack to make fishing it profitable. Even so, a self-contained fishing, processing, packaging, freezing, and storage large ship like the ALASKA reports that after all overhead and wages are accounted for, the net profit is comparable to the gross sale of Pollack roe (fish eggs) sold in Japan. For some reason the Japanese find Pollack roe a delicacy. But thanks to weak-fleshed Pollack, we still have our fish burgers at the main fast food burger chains and fish and chips at the thousands of restaurants around the nation. I just dined on four, Alaskan Pollack fish fillet burgers this past Friday lunch and dinner. Without Pollack I might be paying top dollar for a traditional cod or halibut processed fish burger or else dining on artificial fish made out of soybeans.

[@lawson1ification]

I live in the Pacific Northwest and as long as I can stand on two feet there's no reason I would eat a soybean fish.

[@lawson1ification]

And if you cut both my feet off I'd quit eating fish before I ate a soybean fish

[@jackmolan8198]

A+ over all for your various images, information, it's clear, simple, not easy to do. EXCELLENT...Only one suggestion, I would like to see the video in a new category. Pets and Animals just don't cut it! Thanks!

[@yprainn7788]

I'm watching this whilst eating Alaska Pollock.

[@greymooose1000]

Yeah, Pollack is sustainable, but what about all the other fishes that get decimated while you're trawling and patting your own back?

[@getmeoutofsanfrancisco9917]

The FISHERY (not just the fish) is sustainable. Bycatch is considered within the definition....

[@connorbryan1655]

Never would of thought so much goes into this. Props for them for caring for the fish and not just fishing them extinct and taking the time to study it good for them I know my community wouldn’t give a fuck they’d freeze the fish 5 times lmao😂

[@f1s2hg3]

How do you price your life support

[@viethuynh6808]

Fish taste so good and it’s healthier than beef. I eat pollock from the Walmart and fish at McDonald’s.

[@cliffcampbell8827]

I heard "good science" mentioned. I know this might sound snarky but it' not intended that way so, can someone provide an example of "bad science?" Oh, and please remember that there is a difference between "science" and "blatant lies masquerading as science."

[@Chicken.]

Bad science is stuff like the miracle cure all things people claim, which have studies funded by the people who make them and are extremely biased and skew the data.

[@bluesky6985]

$cience

[@DS-lk3tx]

Good science is typically said by government boots. Seems ironic for the company that supports genocide across the world also seems to care a whole lot about what we eat.

[@raiseacoldone]

I'm going to get a fish sandwich after this video

[@Dredziowata]

not KFC thats interesting you ...

[@calebradell2511]

This is good!

[@jenniferpurdy-brown8194]

i love polok

[@cliffirddelbridge2810]

Claps hands, grins,, this guy wants to fight. EGO mania

[@TheBluesmon]

Trawling can never be sustainable, it's an entirely destructive fishing practice. Leave fishing to small boat fishermen who actually care about the resource, not to mega corporations who only care about profits.

[@harlanmcdiarmid]

Phifffft

[@csr326]

Not true

[@ballbag1171]

So we can pay 100 times the price for fish?

[@scottye1925]

Stop bitchin

[@ethan-up8uk]

no

[@bradconley5772]

Sustainable? Have you looked at the bycatch numbers of the Alaskan trawl fleet.... Its criminal.

[@bobdebouwer7835]

Any video links about that?

[@sesundew356]

Well-managed and sustainable, I think not. Subsistence, sport and commercial fishermen up and down the coast are paying for the mismanagement of the trawl fishery. These fish/crab will never spawn and improve the health of fish stocks, they will never provide for a subsistence way of life and they will never support fishing communities or sport and directed sustainable commercial fishing. This needs to stop Over just 7 days, they REPORTED wasting: 1,279 individual King Salmon 45 metric tons(99,208 lbs) of Halibut 136 metric tons (299,828 lbs) of herring 10,770 individual Opilio crab 25,739 Bairdi crab 121 individual King crab These numbers all come from the most recent week of data collection(March 14 - March 20, 2021) in the Bering Sea / Aleutian Islands(BSAI).

[@mansharkplays5390]

🫡 fish sticks, fish sandwiches and fish nuggets.

[@TheSilentpigs100]

Only if china did this and not overfish

[@MichaelJimmy-yt6vr]

The pollock fishing is not helping us by tossing over valuable king salmon and fish over board and also destroying habitat for salmon and other wildlife

[@travisblount]

What about bycatch???? You’re killing too many juvenile halibut

[@Doug-xi2ep]

And other species...

[@Chicken.]

Did you watch the video, they said they keep it 99% Pollack, which is really good for a fishing industry...

[@FISHH00KS]

@@Chicken. Your boyfriend SAID he's not cheating on you. Your mom SAID you're smart. People say whatever is needed.

[@benosick8542]

@@FISHH00KS You still weren't paying attention. Every single boat has a NOAA observer on board.

[@FISHH00KS]

@@benosick8542 People fall overboard far out at sea all the time.

[@dallaswarren4886]

They do this once a year lol

[@akdonlh9924]

This a blowing smoke up your a%% video where have all of our King salmon go?

[@WhereAreTheSquarePants]

If you want sustainable is simple: don't eat fish. Let the numbers grow up and ecosystem rebalance itself. Is a stupid simple idea.