Good Fish Guide

Mussel, mussels (Caught at sea)

Mytilus edulis

These deep bluish purple two-shelled or bivalve molluscs are common on UK shores and shallow seabeds and are often viewed as a poor man's shellfish, as they are so cheap. The shell is longer than it is wide and wedge-shaped. The inside is … Read more pearly blue. Best steamed with garlic, butter, lemon juice, white wine or other sauce. If cooked well they taste like the ocean with a hint of mushroom. The whole mussel, apart from the shell, is eaten. Mussels are widely cultivated. Eat rope grown or hand-gathered mussels as these are more sustainable than those harvested by mechanical methods such as dredging. However, there is one mussel fishery which has been certified by the MSC, Exmouth Mussels, which uses a hydraulic elevator rather than a typical mussel dredge, producing no bycatch.

Mussels are widely cultivated and stocks generally considered to be under-exploited. The main methods of harvesting for wild and farmed mussels are dredging and hand-gathering. Hand-gathering is a more selective and sustainable method of harvesting mussels in the wild, and causes less disturbance than mechanical methods. The hydraulic elevator mussel fishery in the Exe estuary was certified as an environmentally fishery in July 2012.

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 3,000m 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. smoothhound. 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. Fins may fetch over 30 per kilo and a single basking shark tail fin can fetch up to 5,250 in Hong Kong. Blue sharks and other oceanic species are the preferred species taken.

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

Little information is available on the stock status of octopus as they are not subject to stock assessment or quota controls by ICES or the European Commission. The general biological characteristics of octopus - short life span, … Read more relatively high fecundity and fast growth rates lend themselves to sustainable fishing, but the fundamental data and management requirements are not in place to ensure this. Further, as a bycatch product from trawling, the production method is a less sustainable option. Choose octopus caught by less damaging capture methods, e.g. pot caught, and avoid beam trawl bycatch octopus. A minimum landing weight of 750g is specified for common octopus, but no minimum landing size is specified for the lesser octopus in European waters. Avoid eating baby octopus which are sometimes offered for sale, as they will not have had a chance to reproduce. Females die after their eggs are hatched, so those appearing for retail sale are either male, or females that have not yet reproduced. Given their biological characteristics and high market value, there is some potential for aquaculture production, although local sustainable fishery management may be more economic. Examples from Japan include the deliberate placement of shelters to enhance stock recruitment.

Octopus, Lesser

Eledone cirrhosa

Little information is available on stock status as this species is not subject to stock assessment or quota controls. No minimum landing size is specified for the lesser octopus in European waters (a minimum landing weight of 750g is … Read more specified for the common octopus). Avoid eating baby octopus which are sometimes offered for sale, as they will have had no chance to breed. Females die after their eggs are hatched, so fished individuals are male, or females that have not yet reproduced.

Oyster, Native, oysters

Ostrea edulis

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.

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.

Oyster, Pacific, oysters

Crassostrea gigas

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 a low-impact method of aquaculture 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 of Native Oyster are depleted and although management of the fisheries is good, the native oyster is still vulnerable to exploitation.

Parrotfish, Uhu

Scarus spp.

Parrotfish are moderately resilient to fishing but there is very little data available on their abundance or exploitation rates. And little or no management of the species. Despite the prevalence of marine reserves, the effectiveness of … Read more these conservation efforts, is rarely measured, and enforcement is often weak or absent in many parts of the world. Urgent protection and effective protective legislation is needed as well as continued monitoring of harvest levels and population status, especially for those species already at increased risk of extinction. Unless there is information available to demonstrate their source is sustainable this species is best avoided.

Plaice

Pleuronectes platessa

Another chip shop favourite. It's a right-eyed, oval-shaped flatfish with characteristic reddy orange spots and a pearly white underside. Its orange spots are an indication of freshness; brighter spots mean a fresher fish. Found all around … Read more our shores down to considerable depths, plaice is a long-lived species and subject to high fishing pressure. Alternatives to plaice are Lemon sole, dab, flounder and megrim.

Plaice is a popular consumption and long-lived species which is subject to high fishing pressure. The state of plaice stocks around the UK vary. Currently the best choices for plaice are fish otter trawled in the North Sea or Eastern Channel where the stocks are assessed as healthy and fishing is at a sustainable level. However, as with all plaice fisheries, there is significant discarding of plaice and other species, both in otter and beam trawl fisheries. To increase the sustainability of the plaice you eat ask for and only eat 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, fish below 30 cm, and during their breeding season January to March, also plaice caught in electric-pulse trawl fisheries. Alternatives to plaice are Lemon sole, dab, flounder and megrim.

Pollack or Lythe

Pollachius pollachius

Pollock, Alaska, Walleye

Theragra chalcogramma

If you like cod or haddock, you'll like Alaska pollock. It's a white fish, mild in flavour and low in fat. Makes great fishcakes, is best steamed and is the fish used in McDonald's Filet-O-Fish! A member of the cod family, it's found … Read more throughout the North Pacific. Matures at around 3 years old and lives on average until 15. Can grow to about 90 cms and is called walleye pollock because of its large distinctive eyes!

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 improved monitoring in these fisheries.

Pouting or Bib

Trisopterus luscus

Popular with French cooks who flour their pouting and fry or steam it with salted butter, it can also be poached then sauted. It's best to eat within six hours of being caught as after that it loses flavour. A member of the cod family, bib … Read more or pouting only live for about 4 years and are common in British inshore waters, near Northern Europe Atlantic down to Spain and although not commercially fished is increasingly available in supermarkets.

Pouting (or Bib) is a short-lived species common in British inshore waters. It is not commercially fished and is usually only taken as bycatch. Their stock status is unknown and appropriate management of the species is needed. When buying choose mature (over 21 cm) locally caught fish. Avoid eating fresh fish (not previously frozen) caught during their spawning season (March to April).

Prawn, Endeavour, Greasy back

Metapenaeus spp

The Marine Conservation Society Fishery Team is currently updating the consumer advice for this entry