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Is Wolffish kosher?

No — Wolffish is not kosher under Jewish dietary law.

Not kosher. Wolffish have smooth, essentially scaleless skin. Sometimes marketed as "ocean catfish" or "loup" — neither alias makes it kosher.

Wolffish (Anarhichas lupus)

Image: Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Scientific name
Anarhichas lupus
Also known as
Wolf fish, Sea wolf, Atlantic wolffish, Ocean catfish, Loup
Category
scaleless
Fins & scales
Fins ✓ , no scales ✗
Kosher status
Not kosher

About Wolffish

Large North Atlantic fish with powerful jaws for crushing shellfish. No relation to true catfish despite the market name. The Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus), also known as the seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, devil fish, wolf eel (the common name for its Pacific relative), woof or sea cat, is a marine fish of the wolffish family Anarhichadidae, native to the North Atlantic Ocean. The numbers of the Atlantic wolffish in US waters are rapidly being depleted, most likely due to overfishing and bycatch, and it is currently a Species of Concern according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service. Apart from their unique appearance, wolffish are distinguished by the natural antifreeze they produce to keep their blood moving fluidly in their very cold habitat, involvement by both the male and female in brood bearing and the large size of their eggs. They are also an important factor in controlling green crab and sea urchin populations, which can become overly disruptive to habitats if left unchecked. Wolffish population success is also an important indicator of the health of other bottom-dweller populations, such as Atlantic cod. The Atlantic wolffish (Anarhichas lupus), also known as the seawolf, Atlantic catfish, ocean catfish, devil fish, wolf eel (the common name for its Pacific relative), woof or sea cat, is a marine fish of the wolffish family Anarhichadidae, native to the North Atlantic Ocean. The numbers of the Atlantic wolffish in US waters are rapidly being depleted, most likely due to overfishing and bycatch, and it is currently a Species of Concern according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service. Apart from their unique appearance, wolffish are distinguished by the natural antifreeze they produce to keep their blood moving fluidly in their very cold habitat, involvement by both the male and female in brood bearing and the large size of their eggs. They are also an important factor in controlling green crab and sea urchin populations, which can become overly disruptive to habitats if left unchecked. Wolffish population success is also an important indicator of the health of other bottom-dweller populations, such as Atlantic cod. Taxonomy The Atlantic wolffish was first formally described in 1758 in the 10th edition of the Systema Naturae...

Kosher ruling

Not kosher. Wolffish have smooth, essentially scaleless skin. Sometimes marketed as "ocean catfish" or "loup" — neither alias makes it kosher.

Source: Orthodox Union; Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0); Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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