Seafood Executive Jeremy Woodrow: Protein Demand Could Push Pollock Popularity
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Alaska’s fishing industry may find new demand for an abundant fish that swims in obscurity for many consumers. For years, Alaska pollock has been hiding in fish sticks, fast-food sandwiches, and California rolls, often without consumers even knowing exactly what they were eating.
Now, a very different force could help bring Alaska pollock into the spotlight: the growing popularity of GLP-1 medications.
The drugs have transformed the weight-loss conversation, and they also are changing the way many people think about food. GLP-1 medications can help people eat less. But nutrition experts increasingly emphasize the importance of getting enough protein and protecting muscle mass while losing weight.
That could create an intriguing opportunity for Alaska's seafood industry.
What Is the Potential of Pollock?
"Pollock is cod's smaller cousin," Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, told American Farmland Owner from his office in Juneau, Alaska. "They look very similar, they taste very similar, it's just a smaller filet."
Alaska seafood has been a lifelong passion for Woodrow. His father spent half a century on a fishing boat. He has a brother who has also spent the past few decades in the business.
Any new trend – if it can show staying power – provides enthusiasm for Woodrow whose occupation allows him to spread the benefits of the state’s seafood options and the overall industry’s potential as well.
Jeremy Woodrow bio:
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute – Executive Director, former Communications Director
State of Alaska – Former Communications Officer
Schiedermayer & Associates – Former Public Relations Account Executive
Alaska Municipal League – Former Communications Coordinator
Why Is Pollock a Good Source of Protein?
Pollock’s smaller filet may be part of its appeal to some consumers. Alaska pollock is a mild, flaky whitefish that can be breaded, battered, grilled, broiled, or baked. More importantly in the age of GLP-1s, it is high in protein without carrying a lot of calories or fat.
And there is plenty of it.
"Pollock is also the largest sustainable fishery in the world," Woodrow said. "That means that there's a lot of it. Three billion pounds are harvested in Alaska every single year."
That scale matters if GLP-1 medications prove to be more than a temporary phenomenon.
The potential opportunity isn't simply that people taking these drugs may want more protein. It's that they may be looking for foods that deliver significant nutritional value without requiring them to eat large portions. Woodrow said that is an area where seafood has an advantage.
"You're not trying to eat too much. But if you eat too much, you're too full," he said. "But you're trying to get proteins in."
Fish, he said, can fit that equation.
"The thing that we hear from consumers all the time eating fish is that fish doesn't make you feel as full," Woodrow said. "You eat fish, you digest it easily, it doesn't sit in your stomach as long. But you're still getting all that healthy protein."
There are other nutritional selling points, too.
What Are the Nutritional Benefits of Pollock?
Pollock contains omega-3 fatty acids, the so-called good fats associated with fish. And Woodrow points out that Americans generally don't eat enough seafood.
"If you're trying to add more fish to your diet," he said, pollock is "a great way to add extra protein to your body."
But Woodrow isn't ready to declare that GLP-1s are already driving a major increase in pollock demand.
"I think we're too much on the front end of it," he said.
That caution is understandable. Food trends come and go, and the seafood industry has plenty of variables to navigate. But Alaska's pollock industry has been preparing for an opportunity like this by addressing a problem that has existed for decades: consumers often didn't know they were eating pollock.
"For the longest time, Pollock was kind of a hidden player in the seafood industry," Woodrow said. "It was what was used in your fish sticks, and it was maybe just called whitefish on the labeling."
The industry has increasingly pushed to put "Alaska Pollock" on the front of packages rather than leaving the fish anonymous.
That effort could prove especially valuable as consumers become more interested in what is actually in their food.
How Is the Pollock Industry Expanding?
The industry also has another advantage: modern freezing technology.
"We used to think of frozen fish being kind of taboo," Woodrow said. "Freezing technology has changed drastically. The quality of fish frozen is oftentimes better than fresh fish, because you actually can preserve that freshness."
Still, opportunity brings challenges.
If demand increases significantly, Alaska's seafood supply chain will need to be ready. Woodrow said today's system can handle current demand, but it needs improvements.
"The supply chain definitely needs to be more streamlined," he said.
The industry also needs to become nimbler in developing convenient, ready-to-eat products for consumers whose lives are increasingly busy.
That may ultimately be the bigger story.
GLP-1 drugs could change what Americans want to eat. If they do, Alaska pollock happens to possess many of the characteristics those consumers may be seeking: protein, relatively few calories, healthy fats, affordability, versatility, and sustainability.
