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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Swordfish
Xiphias gladius
Swordfish sustainability varies. The Best Choices are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified. Avoid all swordfish caught by gillnet, as swordfish gillnets can be several kilometres long and catch huge numbers of dolphins, sharks and … Read more turtles. Also avoid swordfish caught by longline in the south-east Pacific, as longline fisheries here catch Critically Endangered leatherback turtles, which are at risk of going locally extinct.
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — Canadian and US certified fleets
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Pacific, South West (FAO 81) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — South West Pacific
Stock detail — Australia. Certified fleets only
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
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Tilapia
Oreochromis niloticus niloticus
Tilapia are omnivores, and as such have a low requirement for fishmeal and fish-oil in their diets, making them net producers of fish protein and therefore a valuable aquaculture species. . When buying farmed tilapia the best choices are … Read more fish farmed to ASC standards or fish farmed in closed systems. Both production methods reduce the negative environmental impacts (e.g. discharges, escapes, transfer of disease and parasites, habitat damage and water pollution or degradation) associated with other culture systems such as open net pen or pond systems.
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Production country — Global
Production method — All
Certification — Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification
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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.
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Production country — UK
Production method — Freshwater pond without recirculation
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Tuna, albacore
Thunnus alalunga
Albacore tuna has mixed sustainability, but there are many good options. The Best Choices are any albacore caught by pole-and-line or troll (which use fishing rods), or MSC-certified longline-caught albacore from the North Atlantic. Most … Read more albacore are caught in uncertified longline fisheries, which can catch high numbers of vulnerable species like seabirds, turtles and sharks.
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
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Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
Certification — Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)
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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)
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Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Pacific, South (FAO 81,87) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — South Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — North Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — North Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, South (FAO 41,47)
Stock area — South Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic, North (FAO 21,27) and Central (FAO 31,34)
Stock area — North Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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Tuna, skipjack
Euthynnus pelamis, Katsuwonus pelamis
Skipjack tuna sustainability varies. The Best Choice is caught by pole and line in the western and central Pacific and the Indian Ocean. Avoid all tuna caught by gillnet, as tuna gillnets can be several kilometres long and catch huge … Read more numbers of dolphins, sharks and turtles. The Western and Central Pacific skipjack tuna fishery is the biggest in the world, catching more than 1.5 million tonnes per year - more than a third of the world's tuna catches.
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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
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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)
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
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Tuna, yellowfin
Thunnus albacares
Yellowfin tuna sustainability varies. The Best Choices are caught by pole & line, troll or handline (all of which involve fishing with a rod and line) in the Atlantic and the western and central Pacific. MSC-certified longline-caught … Read more yellowfin from the western and central Pacific is also a Best Choice. Avoid all tuna caught by gillnet, as tuna gillnets can be several kilometres long and catch huge numbers of dolphins, sharks and turtles. Also avoid yellowfin caught in the Indian Ocean by purse seine or longline unless it's come from a Fishery Improvement Project. Indian Ocean tuna fisheries are generally not very well controlled.
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Capture method — Pole & line; Handline
Capture area — Pacific, North West (FAO 61) and Central (FAO 71,77)
Stock area — Western and Central Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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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)
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Capture method — Pole & line; troll; handline
Capture area — Atlantic Ocean (FAO 21,27,31,34,41 and 47)
Stock area — Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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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.
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Production country — Europe
Production method — Onshore open circuit system
Certification — GLOBALG.A.P. certification
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