pollock

What it is

Alaska pollock: the workhorse of certified-sustainable fisheries (the fish behind fish sticks and imitation crab), mild and lean. Lean is the operative word — pollock is a protein fish, not an oil fish, and its EPA/DHA contribution is modest.

Why it's in pet food

Affordable named fish protein from one of the world's better-managed fisheries — a genuinely defensible sourcing story. 'With ocean fish for omega-3' recipes leaning on pollock are making the lean-fish oversell this aisle keeps flagging.

How Bowlmark scores it

Scores are deterministic math over the printed label — the rules below apply to every product identically, and nothing estimates or fills in a blank.

Seated: pollock joined the named-protein roster in the 2026-08 matcher update, so pollock-led recipes now earn the named bonus for naming themselves plainly. The lean-vs-oily distinction is the page's cargo: for omega-3 outcomes the label needs an OILY fish or its oil (salmon, sardine, menhaden, anchovy); a lean whitefish is excellent protein wearing the wrong halo.

Read the full methodology

Foods that list pollock

No food on the shelf lists pollock yet. Scan a bag that does and its label joins the catalog — versioned from the day it arrives.

Sources

• ACVN — omega-3 fatty acids in joint support
• WSAVA Global Nutrition Committee — Selecting a pet food

Related ingredients

• menhaden fish meal
• ocean fish
• ocean fish meal
• salmon
• salmon meal
• sardine

Further reading

• Protein quality vs quantity — why the % is only half the story
• Storing pet food so it stays the food you bought