Saithe

The saithe can live for up to 30 years, and measure up to 1.20 metres, and weigh around 17 kilograms.

The saithe is one of the three most popular food fish types in Germany. Its meat is firm and low-fat, contains very few bones, and has a distinctive and strong taste.

It can be found in the North Atlantic, the northern North Sea, and occasionally in the Baltic.

It is a pelagic shoaling fish, and lives near the coast and in the open sea at depths of up to 250 metres.

The main food source for young fish are crustaceans and fish spawn, while adults tend to hunt for smaller shoaling fish (herrings, sprats).

The saithe is part of the cod family. Its body is elongated, it has 3 back fins and 2 anal fins, which stand close together, and a clearly visible bright stripe parallel to its back.

The term “pollock” has been coined by the food industry. Fishermen and anglers call it by its actual and technically correct name, “saithe”.

pelagic otter trawls (OTM)

OTM is the abbreviation for the fishing method pelagic otter trawls. Pelagic otter trawls are designed for catching fish species that live in the open water. An otter trawl consists of a funnel-shaped body which ends in a pocket (the codend) and a large opening. The horizontal opening of the net is mainly achieved by two shearboards. The vertical opening is often achieved by buoyancy elements on the headline and weights on the bottom rope. However, modern nets nowadays do not need buoyancy aids. Pelagic otter trawls have no effect on the seabed because they do not usually touch it. In most cases, fishing is targeted at one species and by-catch rates of other species are very low ("pure" fishing). Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

Northeast Atlantic

pelagic otter trawls (OTM)