Good Fish Guide

Ling

Molva molva

Lobster, European

Homarus gammarus

The very large claws of unequal size, along with the abdomen, are full of tasty white meat. Can be bought fresh or frozen. There are many popular lobster recipes including Thermidor and Bisque or of course you can boil, steam or grill it. … Read more Lobster is often boiled alive - The RSPCA recommend that lobster is placed in the freezer at 18 degrees C for 2 hours before boiling so it falls asleep and dies.

Stock levels for UK lobster are generally low or unknown and exploitation levels on them too high.

Do not buy lobster below the legal minimum landing size of 87mm carapace (front-shell length), or egg-bearing (berried) or large females which contribute most to the breeding stock (the larger the animal the more eggs she produces).
A national prohibition on the landing of berried lobster in England was introduced in 2017. There is currently no prohibition on the landing of berried or egg bearing or ovigerous lobster in Wales. Although there is a prohibition in Scotland on the landing of berried or egg-bearing velvet crab, no such restriction exists for female European lobster. The reduction in maximum landing size is however designed to protect larger breeding females as the number of eggs produced by an egg-bearing female is proportional to her size.
A ban on landing berried and v-notched lobster significantly increases the spawning potential and resilience of the stock.

Lobster potting is a more selective method of fishing than netting as undersized, egg-bearing females or immature animals can be returned to the sea alive. The lobster fishery in the Granville Bay Treaty Area, Jersey, is certified as an environmentally responsible fishery by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).

Lobster, Norway, Langoustine, Dublin Bay prawn or scampi

Nephrops norvegicus

A slim, orangey lobster hugely popular in Spain and widely used in classic French cuisine. Scampi is the name for deep fried langoustine tails - deep fried in batter and breadcrumbs, served with chips peas and tartare sauce - though … Read more confusingly other prawns and fish cooked similarly may be also be sold as 'scampi' too. Can also be cooked whole, boiled or steamed.

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 discards of a variety of species.

Marlin, blue

Makaira nigricans

Atlantic blue marlin has been overfished for many years and is still below safe levels. Best avoided for now.

Meagre

Argyrosomus regius

Farmed meagre is emerging into the UK market. It is farmed in Mediterrean countries, mainly in Italy. Although it can be farmed in both land based systems and in open sea pens it is mainly farmed in the sea in open pens. As with most open … Read more intensive prouction the environmental impacts can include disease transfer and pollution issues, feed use and its sustainability is also a concern.

Farmed meagre is emerging into the UK market. It is farmed in Mediterrean countries, mainly in Italy. Although it can be farmed in both land based systems and in open sea pens it is mainly farmed in the sea in open pens. As with most open intensive prouction the environmental impacts can include disease transfer and pollution issues, feed use and its sustainability is also a concern.

Megrim

Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis

A common flatfish found in shelf seas throughout the northeast Atlantic. The best choice for this species is megrim otter trawled from the Northern North Sea and West of Scotland where the stock is assessed as healthy and as harvested … Read more sustainably. Avoid eating immature fish (less than 25 cm) and during their spawning season (January to April).

The best choice for this species is megrim otter trawled from the Northern North Sea and West of Scotland or Rockall where the stocks are assessed as healthy and as harvested sustainably. Avoid eating immature fish (less than 25cm) and during their spawning season (January to April).

Monkfish, Anglerfish

Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa

A fantastical-looking ugly fish with a very big mouth. Rests on the seabed until it snaps up prey attracted to a lure above its cavernous mouth. It doesn't have a strong fishy taste, and has been called 'poor man's lobster', but nowadays … Read more is an expensive fish in its own right. The tail is the most prized part for cooking and you can roast, steam, grill or use it in soups and stews.

There are two species of monkfish caught commercially in UK and EU waters, white bellied monkfish (Lophius piscatorius) and black bellied monkfish (Lophius budgegassa). Monkfish are long-lived and late maturing, making them vulnerable to fishing.
Gillnet caught fish tend to be larger and thus are more likely to be mature and therefore the more sustainable choice. There is a minimum marketing weight of 500g for monkfish in the EU, however this is unlikely to reflect the size of a mature fish. Monkfish mature at an average size of 70 cm, so always source fish from fisheries which select for fish at or above this size. For assurance of scientific co-operation, better environmental practices and experimentation with benthic release panels to reduce impact on bottom dwelling species ask for fish from vessels which are involved in the "Seafish Responsible Fishing Scheme" or from vessels involved in Project 50% and using more selective nets to reduce discards.

Mullet, Grey, Thicklip

Chelon labrosus

Mullet, Red, Striped red mullet

Mullus surmuletus

Mussel, mussels (Farmed)

Mytilus edulis

Best steamed with garlic, butter, lemon juice, white wine or other sauces. If cooked well they taste like the ocean with a hint of mushroom. The whole thing is eaten, apart from the shell and they can be eaten raw. Found in number on UK … Read more shores and shallow seabeds and are often viewed as a poor man's shelfish as they are so cheap. The shell is longer than it is wide and wedge-shaped and the inside is silvery.

Mussels are widely cultivated. Shellfish farming is a low-impact method of aquaculture and high quality water standards are required for cultivation of shellfish for human consumption. Mussel farming requires no feed inputs therefore farming of mussels is a good way of producing seafood. Also there are no chemicals used in mussel farming. As only naturally occurring spat are used for on-growing, escapes are not an issue. Rope grown or hand-gathered mussels, if taken from the wild, have a lower environmental impact than those harvested by mechanical methods such as dredging.

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 … 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 (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.

Octopus, Common

Octopus vulgaris

Octopus, Lesser

Eledone cirrhosa

Oyster, Native, oysters (Caught at sea)

Ostrea edulis

Oyster, Native, oysters (Farmed)

Ostrea edulis

A great choice for special occasions, or a regular treat! Often eaten raw, but can be lightly cooked. They taste like a mouthful of seawater, in fact the French poet Leon-Paul Fargue said eating one was 'like kissing the sea on the lips'. … Read more Oysters are rich in zinc and said to have aphrodisiac properties. They should be tightly closed when bought and have a fresh smell when opened. The native flat oyster was once considered food for the masses because it was so common. It is now depleted throughout European waters including much of Britain. The native oyster and, particularly, the introduced Pacific oyster are grown commercially in UK seas, and are available widely. Oysters are traditionally consumed fresh and eaten on the half shell. They are shipped to local markets or distributed to supermarkets and restaurants. There are large differences among oysters, as with wines, with regard to taste, body and nose. Oysters feed by filtering water through their system -a single Rock oyster can filter up to 10 litres of water per hour. The flavour of oysters is a function of the minerals, salinity, and the type of algae they eat in the water. Like wine, oysters gain much of their flavour from their terroir (environment).Tastes can range from some salty to floral, some have fruity notes, mineral flavour or even hints of spice. Even oysters from the same estuary can vary in flavour depending upon exactly where they are grown.

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 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.