Good Fish Guide

Smoothhound

Mustelus spp.

Smoothhound is one of few shark species whose numbers appear to be stable at present, however there is much uncertainty about its stock status. Unlike many similar elasmobranchs, their relatively high productivity means that there is … Read more potential for this species to be harvested sustainably. However, data are lacking on their biology, and level of fishing on the species which precludes the ability to manage them effectively.

Sole, Dover sole, Common sole

Solea solea

The best choices for Dover or common sole are from the north Celtic Sea, the Bristol Channel and the western English Channel. Fish caught by otter trawl and gillnet will have fewer habitat impacts than those caught by beam trawl, and avoid … Read more pulse-trawl-caught fish altogether. Avoid eating immature sole (less than 30cm) and fresh (not previously frozen) fish caught during the breeding season (April-June).

Sole, Lemon

Microstomus kitt

The fishery for Lemon sole is generally unmanaged in EU waters and there is no minimum landing size (MLS) for the species. An exception to this is in Cornish waters where a MLS of 25cm is enforced by local byelaw. There is no formal … Read more assessment of the North Sea stock but analysis of survey data suggests that fishing mortality is below and stock size above sustainable reference points. Choose seine caught fish where possible, as this method of capture causes less damage to the seabed and is the best choice for lemon sole from the North Sea. Avoid eating immature fish (below 25cm) and if eating fresh from the sea, avoid its breeding period, April-August.

Sole, Sand

Pegusa lascaris

Sprat, whitebait

Sprattus sprattus

Sprat is used for both human consumption and for industrial purposes, e.g. food for agriculture and aquaculture. Sprat are a highly resilient species and small artisanal inshore fisheries for human consumption are unlikely to impact … Read more significantly on wider stocks. However, sprat are under pressure from industrial fisheries, with high removals, current uncertainty in status and unclear management in some areas. Without proper stock assessment and management, fisheries will likely be much less sustainable.

Mature sprat is a more sustainable alternative to whitebait, which is often a mixture of juvenile fish such as herring, sprat and sandeel. The majority of the North Sea stock is made up of adult or mature fish.

Spurdog, Spiny Dogfish, Dogfish, Rock Salmon or Flake

Squalus acanthias

Sharks and rays are found in all the worlds oceans, from the poles to the tropics to shallow water coral reefs to water over 3,000 m deep. The Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas) is unusual as it is able to enter fresh water river systems … Read more where it gives birth. Sharks, skates and rays are fish, but they can be distinguished from bony fish (teleosts) by their cartilaginous skeletons. There are four main types of cartilaginous fish; sharks, skates and rays, collectively called elasmobranchs, and the rarely encountered chimaeras, a more distant relative only found in deep water. They are also distinguished from bony fish by the way they breed. Reproduction in sharks and rays is a very slow process as they have a late age of sexual maturity, produce few young and have a long gestation period. No maternal care is provided to shark pups, instead they are well-developed and ready to hunt when born in order to maximise their chance of survival. All shark eggs are fertilised internally but may develop in one of three different ways: Eggs are held within a leathery case (Oviparity), known as a mermaids purse, e.g. catshark; Embryos develop within the mother and are nourished by the egg (Ovoviparity) e.g. basking shark; Embryos develop within the mother and are provided with nutrients from a placenta (Viviparity) e.g. smooth-hound. World-wide sharks are being removed from our seas at an alarming rate. Sharks are slow growing, long-lived with low reproduction. Finning is perhaps the most damaging and distasteful of all shark fisheries. The process is cruel and wasteful, involving the removal and retention of fins, while the rest of the shark, is discarded, often still alive, to drown or be eaten. Finning takes place all over the world (including Europe) to feed the continual and increasing demand for sharkfin soup. Fins are consumed principally in the Far East but Europe and the USA are sizeable markets for shark fin. Blue sharks and other oceanic species are the preferred species taken. British seas are home to over 30 shark species including the fastest shark in the world (the shortfin Mako) and the second largest fish in the world (the Basking shark) and we even get tropical rare visitors such as hammerheads.

Spurdog (spiny dogfish, rock salmon or flake) are long-lived, slow growing and have a high age at maturity. These characteristics make them particularly vulnerable to high levels of fishing mortality. The Northeast Atlantic stock is considered to be depleted. The species is assessed as Critically Endangered by IUCN and has been recently added to the OSPAR list of threatened and/or declining species and habitats.

Squid, Argentine short fin

Illex argentinus

Squid (often found on menus using the Italian word 'calamari') can be stuffed whole, cut into pieces or rings, which are often deep fried, pickled, as jerky called sakiika, salted or fermented (shiokara). Squid flesh is also produced to … Read more create raw (sashimi) or processed to create dried (surume), cooked (sakiika) or frozen or canned. The Chinese Common squid are a high value species, sold fresh, frozen, dried or processed into hoods and rings or sashimi for the Japanese sushi market. Squid has quite a bland taste so needs other flavourings to perk it up.
Squid is a mollusc related to octopus and cuttlefish. Characterised by a large, fleshy body (mantle), there are more than 300 different types of squid around the world but the most common species eaten in the UK are the European and the Atlantic squid.
Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and is removed from the sea before it has spawned (females die after spawning, though males may live to breed for a second year). Squid is also an important bait species for catching species such as tuna.

Squid fisheries around the world exhibit considerable variations in annual catch, mainly as a result of large fluctuations in annual abundance that appear to be environmentally driven. Fluctuating abundance together with their rapid growth and short life cycle means precise stock information is not available. Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and, without appropriate management, deliberately targeted industrial-scale fisheries have the capacity to remove significant quantities from the sea before they have spawned (it dies after spawning). Fisheries in UK waters tend to be small, seasonal, non-targeted and squid (Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris) is generally taken as bycatch in trawl fisheries for nephrops and other demersal whitefish species. Check which area the squid is from as it may have been caught in an area where whitefish such as cod or whiting are unsustainably fished. A more selective method of fishing for squid is by jigging. An example of such a fishery in the UK is the Sennan Cove squid fishery in Cornwall, where fishermen go out in small punts and fish for squid using jigs, a method of fishing similar to that of hand lining.

Squid, Atlantic, Common, European, Veined

Loligo vulgaris, Loligo forbesi

Squid, Atlantic, Common, European, Veined

Loligo vulgaris, Loligo forbesi

Squid, Homboldt or Jumbo

Dosidicus gigas

Squid (often found on menus using the Italian word 'calamari') can be stuffed whole, cut into pieces or rings, which are often deep fried, pickled, as jerky called sakiika, salted or fermented (shiokara). Squid flesh is also produced to … Read more create raw (sashimi) or processed to create dried (surume), cooked (sakiika) or frozen or canned. The Chinese Common squid are a high value species, sold fresh, frozen, dried or processed into hoods and rings or sashimi for the Japanese sushi market. Squid has quite a bland taste so needs other flavourings to perk it up.
Squid is a mollusc related to octopus and cuttlefish. Characterised by a large, fleshy body (mantle), there are more than 300 different types of squid around the world but the most common species eaten in the UK are the European and the Atlantic squid.
Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and is removed from the sea before it has spawned (females die after spawning, though males may live to breed for a second year). Squid is also an important bait species for catching species such as tuna.

Squid fisheries around the world exhibit considerable variations in annual catch, mainly as a result of large fluctuations in annual abundance that appear to be environmentally driven. Fluctuating abundance together with their rapid growth and short life cycle means precise stock information is not available. Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and, without appropriate management, deliberately targeted industrial-scale fisheries have the capacity to remove significant quantities from the sea before they have spawned (it dies after spawning). Fisheries in UK waters tend to be small, seasonal, non-targeted and squid (Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris) is generally taken as bycatch in trawl fisheries for nephrops and other demersal whitefish species. Check which area the squid is from as it may have been caught in an area where whitefish such as cod or whiting are unsustainably fished. A more selective method of fishing for squid is by jigging. An example of such a fishery in the UK is the Sennan Cove squid fishery in Cornwall, where fishermen go out in small punts and fish for squid using jigs, a method of fishing similar to that of hand lining.

Squid, Indian

Loligo duvauceli

Squid (often found on menus using the Italian word 'calamari') can be stuffed whole, cut into pieces or rings, which are often deep fried, pickled, as jerky called sakiika, salted or fermented (shiokara). Squid flesh is also produced to … Read more create raw (sashimi) or processed to create dried (surume), cooked (sakiika) or frozen or canned. The Chinese Common squid are a high value species, sold fresh, frozen, dried or processed into hoods and rings or sashimi for the Japanese sushi market. Squid has quite a bland taste so needs other flavourings to perk it up.
Squid is a mollusc related to octopus and cuttlefish. Characterised by a large, fleshy body (mantle), there are more than 300 different types of squid around the world but the most common species eaten in the UK are the European and the Atlantic squid.
Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and is removed from the sea before it has spawned (females die after spawning, though males may live to breed for a second year). Squid is also an important bait species for catching species such as tuna.

Squid fisheries around the world exhibit considerable variations in annual catch, mainly as a result of large fluctuations in annual abundance that appear to be environmentally driven. Fluctuating abundance together with their rapid growth and short life cycle means precise stock information is not available. Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and, without appropriate management, deliberately targeted industrial-scale fisheries have the capacity to remove significant quantities from the sea before they have spawned (it dies after spawning). Fisheries in UK waters tend to be small, seasonal, non-targeted and squid (Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris) is generally taken as bycatch in trawl fisheries for nephrops and other demersal whitefish species. Check which area the squid is from as it may have been caught in an area where whitefish such as cod or whiting are unsustainably fished. A more selective method of fishing for squid is by jigging. An example of such a fishery in the UK is the Sennan Cove squid fishery in Cornwall, where fishermen go out in small punts and fish for squid using jigs, a method of fishing similar to that of hand lining.

Squid, Japanese flying

Todarodes pacificus

Squid (often found on menus using the Italian word 'calamari') can be stuffed whole, cut into pieces or rings, which are often deep fried, pickled, as jerky called sakiika, salted or fermented (shiokara). Squid flesh is also produced to … Read more create raw (sashimi) or processed to create dried (surume), cooked (sakiika) or frozen or canned. The Chinese Common squid are a high value species, sold fresh, frozen, dried or processed into hoods and rings or sashimi for the Japanese sushi market. Squid has quite a bland taste so needs other flavourings to perk it up.
Squid is a mollusc related to octopus and cuttlefish. Characterised by a large, fleshy body (mantle), there are more than 300 different types of squid around the world but the most common species eaten in the UK are the European and the Atlantic squid.
Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and is removed from the sea before it has spawned (females die after spawning, though males may live to breed for a second year). Squid is also an important bait species for catching species such as tuna.

Squid fisheries around the world exhibit considerable variations in annual catch, mainly as a result of large fluctuations in annual abundance that appear to be environmentally driven. Fluctuating abundance together with their rapid growth and short life cycle means precise stock information is not available. Squid plays an important role in oceanic and coastal food webs and, without appropriate management, deliberately targeted industrial-scale fisheries have the capacity to remove significant quantities from the sea before they have spawned (it dies after spawning). Fisheries in UK waters tend to be small, seasonal, non-targeted and squid (Loligo forbesi and Loligo vulgaris) is generally taken as bycatch in trawl fisheries for nephrops and other demersal whitefish species. Check which area the squid is from as it may have been caught in an area where whitefish such as cod or whiting are unsustainably fished. A more selective method of fishing for squid is by jigging. An example of such a fishery in the UK is the Sennan Cove squid fishery in Cornwall, where fishermen go out in small punts and fish for squid using jigs, a method of fishing similar to that of hand lining.

Sturgeon (Caught at sea)

Acipenser, Huso spp.

There are about 20 species of Sturgeon but some of them are critically endangered, such as the European Sturgeon. Avoid eating wild sturgeon.

Sturgeon (Farmed)

Acipenser, Huso spp.

Sturgeons the world over are now greatly depleted in number and many of the 27 species - prized for their flesh and eggs (caviar) - are in rapid decline. They are vulnerable to over-exploitation because they are generally long-lived and … Read more slow to mature, and depend on large rivers to spawn. In particular, species native to the Caspian Sea and rivers feeding it have suffered sturgeon habitat loss, destruction of breeding grounds, pollution and mismanaged fisheries. The value of wild sturgeon caviar is so high that there is a substantial illegal fishery for sturgeon that is completely unregulated. Avoid eating wild sturgeon. Due to the lucrative market and demand for caviar, sturgeon aquaculture developed. As wild sturgeon are so depleted, farmed caviar is a better choice. With sturgeon farming there is no dependence on wild fish for broodstock as all fish are bred in hatcheries. Most sturgeon farming in Europe takes place in France.

Swordfish

Xiphias gladius

A number of swordfish fisheries in the Atlantic and Southwest Pacific have been certified as well managed and sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), so make sure to look for any products that carry their blue ecolabel. A … Read more very valuable commercial species, swordfish has been heavily exploited throughout its range and previously overfished, remaining heavily so in the Mediterranean. Improvements to management in other fisheries has recovered populations; with the North Atlantic, Western North Pacific, and Indian Oceans all having fairly healthy fisheries. The primary method of capture though, longlining, continues to impact on vulnerable species such as seabirds, turtles and sharks. Whilst there are measures in use to reduce these impacts, more needs to be done to ensure they are effective and that impacts to these species are minimised.