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 "tuna, yellowfin"
Tuna, yellowfin
Thunnus albacares
A big bulky tuna, though not as large as bluefin, found in tropical or subtropical climates. The tail and some fins are yellow, the rest of the body a glistening dark blue, silvery on the underside. Yellowfin can be canned, sold as steaks
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or even raw as sashimi.
Yellowfin tuna is a large tuna species that is often sold as tuna steaks in the UK. The population in the Western & Central Pacific is in good shape at the moment. Stocks in the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific are Ocean are doing reasonably well but catches have been too high in recent years, and the Indian Ocean stock is overfished and catches remain too high. Yellowfin is mainly caught in longline and purse 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.
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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; 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
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Capture method — Purse seine (FAD & Free School)
Capture area — Pacific, Eastern Central (FAO 77), South, East (FAO 87) and West (FAO 81)
Stock area — Eastern Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Pacific, Eastern Central (FAO 77), South, East (FAO 87) and West (FAO 81)
Stock area — Eastern Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Pole & line
Capture area — Atlantic Ocean (FAO 21,27,31,34,41 and 47)
Stock area — Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Purse seine (tuna-dolphin association)
Capture area — Pacific, Eastern Central (FAO 77), South, East (FAO 87) and West (FAO 81)
Stock area — Eastern Pacific
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Purse seine (FAD & Free School)
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 — All Areas
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Capture method — Troll
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
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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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Capture method — Handline
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Purse seine (FAD & Free School)
Capture area — Atlantic Ocean (FAO 21,27,31,34,41 and 47)
Stock area — Atlantic
Stock detail — All Areas
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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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Capture method — Longline
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — Sri Lanka FIP participants only
Certification — FIP Stage 4. Click [here for info on FIP](https://fisheryprogress.org/fip-profile/sri-lanka-tuna-and-swordfish-longline)
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Capture method — Purse seine (FAD & Free School)
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — Comoros, France and oversees territories, Italy (flag), Kenya, Mayotte, Madagasca, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Spain (flag), United Republic of Tanzania
Certification — FIP Stage 3 and FIP Stage 4. Click [here for info on FIPs](https://fisheryprogress.org/directory)
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
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Capture method — Gill or fixed net
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 — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
info
Capture method — Purse seine (FAD & Free School)
Capture area — Indian Ocean, Western (FAO 51) and Eastern ( FAO 57)
Stock area — Indian Ocean
Stock detail — All Areas
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