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.
You searched for ""
Trout, Rainbow
Oncorhynchus mykiss
Rainbow trout is the predominant farmed trout species as brown trout is mainly produced for restocking purposes. Wild sea trout populations are threatened in some areas. Only eat wild line-caught sea trout from well-managed fisheries, such … Read more as a rod & line fisheries. Avoid eating fresh sea trout caught during the breeding or spawning season from November to March inclusive. Rainbow trout is widely farmed in UK, mainly in freshwater. Farming takes place mainly in ponds or raceways with water being supplied from an adjacent river. Location of farms is determined by the proximity of a clean river to provide water. Trout are carnivorous fish whose feed relies on wild fisheries. Rainbow trout farmed in freshwater is a good choice.
info
Production country — UK
Production method — Freshwater pond without recirculation
info
Tuna, albacore
Thunnus alalunga
Albacore are found throughout the world's temperate, sub-tropical and tropical oceans. They are a large species of tuna and grow more slowly than skipjack and yellowfin tuna which means they need to be well managed to prevent them from … Read more being overexploited. Most albacore stocks are in a fairly healthy state, but management needs to be most improved in the Indian Ocean. Most albacore are caught with longlines which continue to accidentally catch vulnerable species like seabirds, turtles and sharks. Whilst there are measures in use to reduce these impacts, more needs to be done to ensure theory are effective. There are similar concerns in pelagic trawl fisheries which target albacore in some areas. Pole and line or troll fisheries are the most selective and represent the best choice, and there are also some well managed longline fisheries that are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), so look for their blue ecolabel.
info
Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Pacific, South and Central (FAO 81,87, 71,77)
Stock area — American Samoa, Australia, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, High Seas, New Zealand
Stock detail — Certified fleets only
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
info
Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Pacific, South (FAO 81,87) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — South Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — North Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — North Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Atlantic, South (FAO 41,47)
Stock area — South Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, South (FAO 41,47)
Stock area — South Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Tuna, skipjack
Euthynnus pelamis, Katsuwonus pelamis
Skipjack tuna is a smaller and faster growing tuna, and one the best choices out of the commercially targeted tuna species. Skipjack stocks worldwide are still in fairly good shape, but the increasing catch in some areas is concerning and … Read more management needs to be improved in most areas. Skipjack is mainly caught in large scale purse seine fisheries and is usually caught alongside yellowfin and bigeye tuna. To a lesser extent, skipjack is also caught in small scale pole and line and troll fisheries which are more selective and a good option. Several skipjack fisheries have also been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sustainable, well managed fisheries, so look for their blue ecolabel on tuna products.
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — Western and Central Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Indian Ocean: Western (FAO 51), Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — The Republic of Maldives EEZ
Stock detail — Certified fleets only
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, Western (FAO 21,31,41)
Stock area — West Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Tuna, yellowfin
Thunnus albacares
Yellowfin tuna is a large tuna species that is often sold as tuna steaks in the UK. Many stocks are doing well, but the Indian Ocean stock is overfished and catches remain far too high. Yellowfin is mainly caught in longline and purse … Read more seine fisheries. The accidental catch of vulnerable species like sharks is of concern in the longline fisheries. The catch rate of sharks and other vulnerable species in purse seine fisheries is low, but because the scale of these fisheries is so big, they can still have a large impact on these species. Purse seine fisheries can also catch a lot of juvenile tunas. Smaller scale pole & line, hand line and troll fisheries are more selective and a better choice. Some yellowfin fisheries are certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sustainable, well managed fisheries, so look for their blue ecolabel on tuna products.
info
Capture method — Pole & line; Handline
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — Philippines, Indo, PNG
Stock detail — Philippines, Indo, Vietnam, PNG EEZs
info
Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — Western and Central Pacific
Stock detail — Certified fleets only
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
info
Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic Ocean (FAO 21,27,31,34,41 and 47)
Stock area — Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Turbot (Farmed)
Psetta maxima
The farming of turbot is a fairly recent development. Unlike open net pen fish farming such as salmon, turbot are farmed in enclosed land-based flow through systems that have little or no direct environmental impact. However turbot are a … Read more carnivorous species which require a high percentage of fishmeal and fish-oil in their diet, which makes them a net user of fish protein rather than a net provider. The wild fish on which they rely cannot be assured to come from a sustainable supply.
info
Production country — Europe
Production method — Onshore open circuit system
Certification — GLOBALG.A.P. certification
info
