Good Fish Guide
Your guide to sustainable seafood
You can play a key role in securing the future of our seas and marine wildlife by making more environmentally responsible choices when buying seafood.
Our seas face a wide range of threats - click to expand
Our seas face a wide range of threats. Climate change, pollution, habitat and biodiversity loss are all impacting our seas; plus 90% of global fish stocks are either fully or over-exploited. All these factors combined mean that urgent action is needed to restore the health of our seas. Fish farming (aquaculture) is rapidly expanding to meet increasing demand for seafood, but if this is done badly it can also damage the environment and exacerbate these other problems.
Use the Good Fish Guide to find out which fish are the most sustainable (Green rated), and which are the least sustainable (Red rated). Make the right choice and reduce your impact – every purchase matters! Find out more about our seafood work, including how we develop our seafood ratings, plus sustainable seafood recipes and more.
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Halibut, Atlantic (Caught at sea)
Hippoglossus hippoglossus
MCS recommends Avoiding Atlantic halibut. It is a highly vulnerable species, and has been heavily overfished throughout its range. Its stock status is unknown, but it is likely that it is overfished in European waters. There is little … Read more management in place to protect the species, except in Norway. IUCN categorises Atlantic halibut as Vulnerable in Europe and Endangered globally.
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Norway
Stock detail — Norway
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Norway
Stock detail — Norway
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Norway
Stock detail — Norway
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — All Areas
Stock detail — 1 to 14
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — All Areas
Stock detail — 1 to 14
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Halibut, Greenland
Reinhardtius hippoglossoides
Greenland halibut is a long-lived, slow-growing species, making it vulnerable to exploitation by commercial fisheries. Populations in the North East Arctic, Iceland and Faroe Islands are not currently overfished, but around Iceland and the … Read more Faroe Islands the species is subject to overfishing. In west Greenland, populations are declining and subject to overfishing. Management is absent or inadequate for all stocks, with catches regularly exceeding the scientific advice. Capture methods include trawling, gillnets and longlines. Most areas have measures in place to protect some deep sea habitats such as corals and sponges, but trawling may still be taking place below 600m, which can result in damage to very vulnerable habitats. Look for MSC certified options where available, as these fisheries will be working to improve management and mitigate their environmental impacts.
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Iceland, Faroes, West of Scotland, North of Azores, East of Greenland
Stock detail — 5, 6, 12, 14
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — North West Atlantic (FAO 21)
Stock area — West Greenland
Stock detail — 1A: Upernavik, Uummannaq, Disco Bay (Inshore fishery)
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Herring or sild
Clupea harengus
The sustainability of herring varies significantly depending on which population it comes from and MCS recommends checking labels for catch locations. The best choice is from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified fishery in the … Read more southern Irish Sea.
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Capture method — Ring net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Cornwall
Stock detail — 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl, Purse seine
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Baltic Sea (West), Skagerrak and Kattegat: Western Baltic Spring Spawners
Stock detail — 3a-d (subdivisions 20-24)
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Baltic Sea (West), Skagerrak and Kattegat: Western Baltic Spring Spawners
Stock detail — 3a-d (subdivisions 20-24)
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea (West of Scotland), Irish Sea (West of Ireland)
Stock detail — 6a, 7b, 7c
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Irish Sea (South), Celtic Sea and southwest of Ireland
Stock detail — 7a (South), 7g, 7h, 7j, 7k
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl, Purse seine
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea Autumn Spawners: Skagerrak and Kattegat
Stock detail — 3a
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Baltic Sea (Central)
Stock detail — 3d (subdivisions 25-29 and 32) excluding Gulf of Riga
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Capture method — Drift net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Cornwall
Stock detail — 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h
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Horse Mackerel, Scad
Trachurus trachurus
Horse mackerel is caught in directed (human consumption) and non-directed fisheries in and around UK waters. Generally, directed horse mackerel fisheries use methods that are relatively selective or 'clean' in terms of bycatch and … Read more non-damaging to the seabed. The non-directed bycatch fisheries tend to catch horse mackerel using other methods of fishing which can be more harmful. There are three stocks: Western horse mackerel, North Sea horse mackerel, and Southern horse mackerel. Not all of the stocks are doing well. The Western and North Sea stocks are being overfished and are subject to overfishing, so it pays to know where your horse mackerel has been caught.
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Norwegian Sea, North Sea (North), Celtic Seas, Cantabrian Sea, English Channel (South), Bay of Biscay. Western stock.
Stock detail — 8, 2a, 4a, 5b, 6a, 7a–c, 7e–k
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Lobster, Norway, Langoustine, Dublin Bay prawn or scampi
Nephrops norvegicus
Choose Nephrops caught using creels as creels are a more environmentally-friendly fishing method and produce a higher quality product. Nephrops are usually caught using trawls, which are associated with large quantities of bycatch and … Read more discards of a variety of species.
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea (Horn's Reef)
Stock detail — 4b, Functional Unit 33
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Marlin, blue
Makaira nigricans
Atlantic blue marlin has been overfished for many years and is still below safe levels. Avoid.
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Atlantic Ocean (FAO 21,27,31,34,41 and 47)
Stock area — Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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Mullet, Grey, Thicklip
Chelon labrosus
Grey mullet are a slow-growing, long-lived and late-maturing fish. They tend not to be a major commercial species but when fished commercially, they are a target or bycatch species which are mostly caught with gill nets. More management is … Read more required to protect grey mullet. Avoid eating them as there is insufficient management to protect the species.
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea, English Channel
Stock detail — 4, 7d, 7e
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Mullet, Red, Striped red mullet
Mullus surmuletus
There is no assessment or management of red mullet stocks. This is a cause for concern as the species is taken in both targeted fisheries and as bycatch. Two management units are identified in European waters - a Western and a Northern … Read more unit. A minimum landing size of 15 cm is enforced in the jurisdiction of the Cornish Inshore Fisheries Conservation Authority. Although this is just below 16 cm, the size at which they mature (in the English Channel), this is the only management measure for this species, so fish from this area is the best choice currently available. Avoid eating immature fish (less than 16 cm) and fresh (not previously frozen) fish caught during the summer spawning season (May-July).
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea, Eastern English Channel and Skagerrak and Kattegat (Northern Area)
Stock detail — 3a, 4, 7d
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Capture method — Danish seine
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea, Eastern English Channel and Skagerrak and Kattegat (Northern Area)
Stock detail — 3a, 4, 7d
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — West of Scotland, Bay of Biscay, southern Celtic Seas, Atlantic Iberian Waters (Western Area)
Stock detail — 6, 7a-c, 7e-k, 8, 9a
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — North Sea, Eastern English Channel and Skagerrak and Kattegat (Northern Area)
Stock detail — 3a, 4, 7d
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Nursehound, Bull Huss, Greater Spotted Dogfish
Scyliorhinus stellaris
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
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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 (Oviparity) 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.
In general, consumers should avoid eating nursehound (and all shark species) as they are insufficiently managed, fisheries are data-deficient and the species inherently vulnerable to overexploitation due to their specific biological characteristics (slow-growing, late to mature and producing few young). Nursehound from the Celtic Sea is the better choice as localised populations appear to be stable, or recently decreasing. However, there are insufficient data to fully evaluate stock status.
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea and English Channel
Stock detail — 6 and 7
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea and English Channel
Stock detail — 6 and 7
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea and English Channel
Stock detail — 6 and 7
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Capture method — All applicable methods
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Cornwall
Stock detail — 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h
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Oyster, Native, oysters (Caught at sea)
Ostrea edulis
Throughout European waters,including much of Britain, the native oyster is depleted in the wild. Areas once noted for their large natural beds are now being used for oyster farming or cultivation including non-native species, such as the … Read more Pacific oyster, which are currently more widely cultivated than the native oyster. Oyster beds are generally privately owned and managed. Shellfish farming is an extensive, low-impact method of mariculture and high quality water standards are required for cultivation of shellfish for human consumption. Dredging can cause disruption to the seabed and has a higher associated bycatch than manual harvesting techniques, but are less suited to deeper water for practical reasons. Some growers may hand-gather their stock by diving or by net to enhance quality. Wild stocks are depleted and although management of the fisheries is good, the native oyster is still vulnerable to exploitation. Choose cultivated oysters from environmentally responsible farms where possible.
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Capture method — Dredge
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — UK
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Hand-gathering
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — UK
Stock detail — All Areas
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Plaice
Pleuronectes platessa
Plaice is a popular fish for consumption and is subject to high fishing pressure. The state of plaice stocks around the UK vary. Currently the best choice for plaice is from North Sea, where the stocks are assessed as healthy and fishing … Read more is at a sustainable level. However, as with all plaice fisheries, there is significant discarding of plaice and other species. To increase the sustainability of the plaice you eat, ask for plaice taken in trawls using measures to improve the selectivity of the net to reduce discarding, and fitted with Benthic Release Panels to reduce impact on bottom dwelling species. Avoid eating immature plaice, below 30 cm. If eating fresh from the sea, avoid plaice caught during their breeding season (January to March). Give plaice caught in electric-pulse trawl fisheries a complete miss. Alternatives to plaice are lemon sole, dab, flounder and megrim.
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea South, southwest of Ireland
Stock detail — 7h-k
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Capture method — Beam trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Celtic Sea South, southwest of Ireland
Stock detail — 7h-k
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Pollock, Alaska, Walleye
Theragra chalcogramma
Pollock in US fisheries are generally at healthy levels. They are managed through a suite of management measures and bycatch in the fishery is generally small. Choose Marine Stewardship Council certified pollock as they tend to employ … Read more improved monitoring in these fisheries.
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Capture method — Pelagic trawl
Capture area — North West Pacific (FAO 61)
Stock area — Russia
Stock detail — Bering Sea (West)
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Prawn, King (whiteleg), prawns
Litopenaeus vannamei
Only buy king prawns from suppliers that can ensure their product is sourced from farms that comply with environmental standards for habitat protection and impacts of production. Organic farming standards ensures many such standards are … Read more met making organic farmed tiger prawns the best choice. Requirements for organic farms include utilisation of by-products from human consumption fisheries for feed; habitat protection and restoration, limitation on chemical usage, limited stocking densities and strict health and feeding guidelines. Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practice (GAA BAP 2*, 3*, 4*)and GlobalGap certification ensures some of these standards are met. Look for the organic label on products or ask your supermarket if they have a buying policy for tiger prawns to ensure high production standards are in place, and environmental concerns addressed.
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Production country — India, Vietnam and Indonesia
Production method — Pond system, Intensive & Semi-intensive
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Prawn, Tiger prawns (Farmed)
Penaeus monodon
Only buy tiger prawns from suppliers that can ensure their product is sourced from farms that comply with environmental standards for habitat protection and impacts of production. Requirements for certified farms include responsible … Read more sourcing of feed; habitat protection and restoration, limitation on chemical usage and strict health guidelines. Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), Global Aquaculture Alliance Best Aquaculture Practice (GAA BAP 2*, 3*, 4*) and Global Gap certification ensures some of these standards are met. Look for the eco-label on products or ask your supermarket if they have a buying policy for tiger prawns to ensure high production standards are in place, and environmental concerns addressed.
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Production country — India, Vietnam and Indonesia
Production method — Semi-intensive and improved extensive
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Ray, Blonde
Raja brachyura
Skate and ray species are all generally sold as 'skate', but all true skate should be completely avoided. Whole ray are available as fresh or frozen wings and knobs (cheeks).The term 'Skates and Rays' can be a bit confusing here in
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Britain. What are traditionally known in Britain as 'rays' are, scientifically or biologically speaking, 'skates'. While the rays (which are technically skates!) sold in fishmongers throughout Britain - Spotted, Small-eyed, Cuckoo, Blonde etc. - belong to the family Rajidae, not all rays found in British waters belong to this family. Two species of Torpedo Rays (Torpedinidae); 2 species of Whiptail Stingrays (Dasyatidae); the Common Eagle Ray (Myliobatidae) ; and Giant Devil Ray (Mobulidae) are also either resident or visitors to our waters! Skates and rays generally available for consumption however do belong to the same sub-order "batoidea" and are large flat fish, dwelling close to the sea floor. Like sharks they have cartilage skeletons instead of bone. Skates tend to be large with long snouts, while rays are smaller species and have short snouts. They are both slow to grow and breed. Many are uncommon or rare. For more information on skates, rays and sharks go to: http://www.sharktrust.org.
In general, skates and rays are vulnerable to overfishing because they grow really slowly, mature late in life and produce few young. We don't know if their populations are healthy most of the time because, until recently, catches haven't been recorded very well. When choosing skate or ray, choose a fast-growing species like Spotted ray because their populations are at a healthier level. Avoid eating skates and rays below the size at which they can reproduce (57cm in length for Spotted Ray). If buying Spotted Ray, choose it from boats belonging to the North Devon Fishermen's Association (NDFA) because they employ better management to protect skates and rays.
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Western English Channel
Stock detail — 7e
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Bristol Channel
Stock detail — 7f,g
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Irish and Celtic Seas
Stock detail — 7a, f and g
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Capture method — Beam trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Southern North Sea and Eastern English Channel
Stock detail — 4c, 7d
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Capture method — Beam trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Bristol Channel
Stock detail — 7f,g
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Capture method — Demersal otter trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Northern North Sea and West of Scotland
Stock detail — 4a, 6
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Capture method — All applicable methods
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Cornwall
Stock detail — 7e, 7f, 7g, 7h
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Capture method — Beam trawl
Capture area — North East Atlantic (FAO 27)
Stock area — Northern North Sea and West of Scotland
Stock detail — 4a, 6
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