CreatureData

Saithe

Pollachius virens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Status not recordedbony fish

The saithe (Pollachius virens) is a bony fish in the family Gadidae and the genus Pollachius. It belongs to the order Gadiformes, suborder Gadoidei, within the class Teleostei of the phylum Chordata.

Saithe (Pollachius virens)
Photo: Tino Strauss · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the saithe

Other English names for the saithe are Coley, Billet, Pollock, Glassan and Gloshan. Its scientific name carries the authority (Linnaeus, 1758).

Weight
up to 32 kgsrc for Weight
Length
1 m – 1.2 msrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Longest recorded lifespan
20 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
marinesrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Reproduction
Eggssrc for Reproduction
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

How big is the saithe?

SAITHE · LENGTH 1.2 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.2 m, the recorded maximum length of the saithe is about 71% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

What does the saithe eat, and what eats it?

Species recorded in published studies and collections.

Recorded prey of the saithe

The 24 best supported of 128 on record

  1. Atlantic herring Clupea harengus10 sources
  2. Putassu Micromesistius poutassou9 sources
  3. European sprat Sprattus sprattus9 sources
  4. Atlantic mackerel Scomber scombrus8 sources
  5. Cepelan Trisopterus minutus8 sources
  6. Nordic krill Meganyctiphanes norvegica7 sources
  7. European pilchard Sardina pilchardus6 sources
  8. Atlantic horse mackerel Trachurus trachurus6 sources
  9. Argentine Argentina sphyraena6 sources
  10. Norway pout Trisopterus esmarkii6 sources
  11. Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus6 sources
  12. Silvery pout Gadiculus argenteus6 sources
Show 12 more
  1. Merlangius Merlangius merlangus5 sources
  2. Dab Hippoglossoides platessoides5 sources
  3. Pearlfish Maurolicus muelleri4 sources
  4. Northern prawn Pandalus borealis5 sources
  5. Atlantic cod Gadus morhua5 sources
  6. Corbin's sandeel Hyperoplus immaculatus4 sources
  7. Dab Limanda limanda4 sources
  8. Launce Hyperoplus lanceolatus4 sources
  9. Pink prawn Pandalus montagui4 sources
  10. Pseudocalanus elongatus4 sources
  11. Sand shrimp Crangon crangon4 sources
  12. Flet Glyptocephalus cynoglossus4 sources

Recorded predators of the saithe

12 on record

  1. Atlantic cod Gadus morhua6 sources
  2. Merlangius Merlangius merlangus4 sources
  3. Spiny dogfish Squalus acanthias4 sources
  4. Ling Molva molva3 sources
  5. Grey gurnard Eutrigla gurnardus3 sources
  6. Haddock Melanogrammus aeglefinus3 sources
  7. Thornback Amblyraja radiata3 sources
  8. Common minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata2 sources
  9. Putassu Micromesistius poutassou2 sources
  10. Redfish Sebastes mentella2 sources
  11. Greenland shark Somniosus microcephalus2 sources
  12. Monkfish Squatina squatina2 sources

Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).

References for these records
  • Pinnegar, J. K., Trenkel, V. M., Tidd, A. N., Dawson, W. A. and Du Buit, M. H. 2003. Does diet in Celtic Sea fishes reflect prey availability? Journal of Fish Biology 63(Supplement A): 197-212.
  • FishBase
  • Portalier, Sebastien; Fussmann, Gregor; Loreau, Michel; Cherif, Mehdi (2018), Data from: The mechanics of predator-prey interactions: first principles of physics predict predator-prey size ratios, Dryad, Dataset, https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.8c40mb0. Accessed at <https://datadryad.org/stash/downloa
  • Pinnegar, J. K., V. M. Trenkel, A. N. Tidd, W. A. Dawson, and M. H. DuBuit. 2003. Does diet in Celtic Sea fishes reflect prey availability? Journal of Fish Biology 63 (Supplement A):197–212.
  • Globi
  • Cooperative Research Report No. 164; Cooperative Research Report No. 219, ICES Stomach DatasetImpl, ICES
  • Pinnegar, J.K. (2014). DAPSTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Version 4.7. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. February 2014, 39pp. Accessed at <https://www.cefas.co.uk/umbraco/CefasPlugins/DapstomSurface/Download?searchType=predator&s
  • H�ines, �. S., and Bergstad, O. A. 1999. Resource sharing among cod, haddock, saithe and pollack on a herring spawning ground. Journal of Fish Biology, 55: 1233-1257.
  • Bar2
  • Erik
  • Du Buit, M. 1991. Food and feeding of saithe (Pollachius virens L.) off Scotland. Fisheries Research, 12: 307-323.
  • Yano, K., Stevens, J. D., and Compagno, L. J. V. 2007. Distribution, reproduction and feeding of the Greenland shark Somniosus (Somniosus) microcephalus, with notes on two other sleeper sharks, Somniosus (Somniosus) pacificus and Somniosus (Somniosus) antarcticus. Journal of Fish Biology, 70: 374-39

Photos of the saithe

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

Saithe (Pollachius virens)
Wilhelm Thomas Fiege · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Saithe (Pollachius virens)
NasserHalaweh · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Saithe (Pollachius virens)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Where does the saithe live?

Not recorded

What is the saithe?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Pollachius virens is a species of marine fish in the genus Pollachius. Together with P. pollachius, it is generally referred to in the United States as pollock. It is commonly known in Britain as the coalfish, coley, or saithe ( or ), and the young fish may also be called podleys or cuddies in Scotland and northern England.

From the Wikipedia article “Pollachius virens” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Pollachius_virens&oldid=1383149826), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the saithe endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the saithe classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classTeleostei
  4. orderGadiformes
  5. familyGadidae
  6. genusPollachius
  7. SpeciesPollachius virens (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms Gadus carbonarius, Gadus colinus, Gadus purpureus, Gadus sey, Gadus virens, Merlangus carbonarius, Merlangus purpureus, Merlangus virens, Polachius virens, Pollachius carbonarius

Other names and names in other languages (63)
  • BilletEnglish
  • Coal fishEnglish
  • Coal-fishEnglish
  • CoalfishEnglish
  • ColeyEnglish
  • GlassanEnglish
  • GloshanEnglish
  • PollockEnglish
  • PollockEnglish
  • SillockEnglish
  • negruAsturian
  • levnegBreton
  • gwelenekBreton
  • Levneg duBreton
  • treska tmaváCzech
  • chwitlyn glasWelsh
  • Chwitlyniaid GlasWelsh
  • sejDanish
  • MørksejDanish
  • KöhlerGerman
  • BlaufischGerman
  • SeelachsGerman
  • colinSpanish
  • carboneroSpanish
  • Põhjaatlandi süsikasEstonian
  • SeitiFinnish
  • seiðurFaroese
  • colinFrench
  • colin (lieu)French
  • gobergeFrench
  • lieu noirFrench
  • CudaigScottish Gaelic
  • saoidheanScottish Gaelic
  • saoidheananScottish Gaelic
  • BloghanManx
  • Crni bakalarCroatian
  • ufsiIcelandic
  • シロイトダラJapanese
  • 북대서양대구Korean
  • Ledjūrio menkėLithuanian
  • SaidaLatvian
  • seiNorwegian Bokmål
  • grønnsporNorwegian Bokmål
  • klakkeseiNorwegian Bokmål
  • mortNorwegian Bokmål
  • paleNorwegian Bokmål
  • snaddNorwegian Bokmål
  • koolvisDutch
  • zwarte koolvisDutch
  • seiNorwegian Nynorsk
  • grønsporNorwegian Nynorsk
  • hølingNorwegian Nynorsk
  • kodNorwegian Nynorsk
  • seikodNorwegian Nynorsk
  • seiNorwegian
  • pale (kleine)Norwegian
  • CzarniakPolish
  • EscamudoPortuguese
  • СайдаRussian
  • sáidiNorthern Sami
  • sejSwedish
  • gråsejSwedish
  • 綠青鱈Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMS

Relatives of the saithe

Other species in the same genus Pollachius.

Lythe

Pollachius pollachius

GadidaeNo free photo yet

CompareSaithe vs Lythe

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the saithe?

The saithe is a bony fish. It belongs to the family Gadidae in the order Gadiformes.

What is the scientific name of the saithe?

The scientific name of the saithe is Pollachius virens, placing it in the genus Pollachius.

What other names does the saithe have?

Other English names for the saithe are Coley, Billet, Pollock, Glassan and Gloshan.

Who named the saithe and when?

The saithe was named by Linnaeus in 1758, with the authority written as (Linnaeus, 1758).

What family does the saithe belong to?

The saithe belongs to the family Gadidae, within the suborder Gadoidei.

What class is the saithe in?

The saithe is in the class Teleostei, within the phylum Chordata and kingdom Animalia.

What eats the saithe?

Animals recorded preying on the saithe include atlantic cod, merlangius, spiny dogfish and ling. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Which animals does the saithe eat?

Animals recorded as prey of the saithe include atlantic herring, putassu, european sprat and atlantic mackerel. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Saithe (Pollachius virens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/saithe

MLA

“Saithe (Pollachius virens).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/saithe.

BibTeX
@misc{saithe_2026,
  title = {Saithe (Pollachius virens)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/saithe},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}