The ocean pout was first formally described in 1801 by the German naturalists Marcus Elieser Bloch and Johann Gottlob Theaenus Schneider with its type locality given as "American seas".

There is a dark brown line on each side of the head running from the upper rear margin of the eye to the edge of the operculum.

[1] The ocean pout is a predatory species which feeds on invertebrates such as bivalves, sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle stars, and crabs,[5] worms,[1] and some fish.

AquaBounty Technologies has attempted to address these concerns by stating that all of the transgenic salmon to be intended for sale will be sterile females.

[citation needed] Some restaurant and grocery store chains in the United States have announced they will not sell the new fish, citing concerns over its safety for human consumption, despite no scientific evidence showing a risk.