Assembly Line

How whitefish is caught

A quarter of US Alaska pollock becomes imitation crab. Close to half is fillets, many headed for fish sticks.

stations
5
things downstream
2

The short version

Whitefish is a trade term for lean, pale fish such as cod, haddock, hake and pollock, which store most of their oil in the organs, away from the flesh. Trawlers tow funnel-shaped nets through the water, then gut and chill the catch fast. Fillets are frozen into blocks that factories later saw into fish sticks.

  1. Tow the funnel net

    Trawlers pull a large cone-shaped net through the mid-water for pollock, or along the seabed for bottom-dwelling species. Fish collect in the closed tail of the net. In the Alaska pollock fishery, less than 1 percent of the catch is other species.

  2. Bleed, gut and wash

    Crews or factory ships bleed, gut and wash the fish. The exact order depends on the species, the fishing gear and how long the vessel stays at sea.

  3. Chill right away

    Fish are cooled to about 0 °C with circulating cold air, boxed ice or slurry ice, or frozen below −18 °C. Lean flesh is perishable, and temperature is the main control on spoilage.

  4. Fillet the catch

    Machines and workers cut the fillets from the frame. Trim pieces are kept as well, either minced for cheaper products or washed and pulverized into surimi paste.

  5. Freeze into blocks

    Fillets are layered into a block mold and deep-frozen. Minced fish comes in industry-standard 7.5-kilogram blocks. These ship worldwide as raw material for breaded and battered products.

End of the lineWhitefish Next it goes into imitation crab, fish sticks.

Worth repeating

  • Alaska pollock is the world's second most important fish species by total catch, after the Peruvian anchoveta.
  • Fish sticks were launched commercially in 1953 under the Birds Eye label.
  • British shoppers were offered herring fingers and a bland cod control, and overwhelmingly chose the cod.

Where it goes next

Whitefish feeds 2 lines directly.

Imitation crabFish sticks

Keep walking

Cotton candy 9 stations · 17 raw sources 3D printer filament 6 stations · 13 raw sources Baguette 7 stations · 11 raw sources Frozen pizza 8 stations · 16 raw sources Sparkling water 6 stations · 19 raw sources Chicken nuggets 7 stations · 15 raw sources

Surprise meConnect this to something else

Sources

Cite this page: "How whitefish is caught." Assembly Line, 2026-11-03. https://assemblyline.org/make/whitefish

Spot a mistake on this page?