It is commonly known in Britain as the coalfish, coley, or saithe (/seɪð/ or /seɪθ/),[1][2] and the young fish may also be called podleys in Scotland and northern England.

The flesh of coalfish (P. virens) is darkly coloured (hence the common name) while that of P. pollachius is similar to other members of the cod family.

This dark colour in the fresh uncooked flesh may have led to the undeserved reputation of this fish as poor for eating.

Adults can typically live up to 16–20 years and grow to 100–120 centimetres (39–47 in) but individuals up to 130 cm (51 in) and weight up to 32 kg (70 lb 9 oz) have been caught.

The current IGFA All-Tackle World Record is 22.7 kilograms (50 lb 1 oz) which was caught at Saltstraumen in Norway.

All the stocks in eastern Atlantic are assessed by International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) which publish a recommendations on an annual basis for Total Allowable Catch.