PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — A fish known as whiting is being featured at Maine restaurants and retailers in an effort to promote lesser-known and underutilized seafood species.

The Gulf of Maine Research Institute’s third Out of the Blue promotional campaign kicks off Friday. During the 10-day promotion, whiting will be the featured product at 21 businesses from Kennebunkport to Bar Harbor.

The program earlier this year featured redfish and mackerel to raise public awareness — and demand — for unappreciated seafood species.

The research institute, located in Portland, says whiting is a mild whitefish that was historically popular but suffered from overfishing in the 1960s. Whitefish populations are now at healthy levels, but consumer awareness and market prices remain low.