Least concern
Widespread and not thought to be at risk. 183 fish on EveryFish so far.
Least Concern is the IUCN Red List category for species that have been assessed and are not close to qualifying as threatened. They are usually widespread and abundant. Many important food fish are in this category, including hilsa, rohu, skipjack tuna and Atlantic herring. Least Concern describes a species as a whole, worldwide; it does not mean that every local stock is healthy or well managed.
Common, not always safe
A fish can be Least Concern globally while particular populations are in trouble. Hilsa is widespread across the Bay of Bengal and its rivers, but its runs up the Ganges collapsed after the Farakka Barrage. Rohu and catla are abundant because they are farmed in huge numbers, while wild river stocks have declined. Herring stocks have crashed and recovered in different seas over the past century. Fisheries are managed stock by stock, so local assessments matter as much as the global category.
Back from the brink
Some fish have moved into Least Concern after recovering. The Atlantic bluefin tuna was listed as Endangered in 2011 after decades of overfishing; strict quotas set by the Atlantic tuna commission, ICCAT, and better enforcement let stocks recover, and in 2021 it was reassessed as Least Concern. Yellowfin tuna was moved from Near Threatened to Least Concern in the same update, though scientists warn that yellowfin in the Indian Ocean is still overfished.
Famous least concern fish
Still to be written: Ilish, Catla, Indian mackerel, Skipjack tuna, Atlantic bluefin tuna, Yellowfin tuna, Atlantic herring.
Further reading
🇮🇳 India and 4 moreRohu
A large silver carp from South Asian rivers, farmed for food and prized as a game fish.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇲🇾 Malaysia and 1 moreHarlequin rasbora
A small, colourful freshwater fish popular in home aquariums for its distinctive black body marking.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇰🇪 Kenya and 4 moreRipon barbel
A large freshwater cyprinid from East African lakes and rivers.Carp · Rivers and lakes · 1900
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreSabre carp
A silvery surface feeder from Eastern Europe and Asia.Carp · Rivers and lakes
Southeast AsiaSiamese algae-eater
A bottom-dwelling freshwater fish from Southeast Asia known for eating red algae in aquariums.Carp · Rivers and lakes
Southeast AsiaClown barb
A spotted freshwater fish from Borneo and Sumatra.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇲🇲 Myanmar and 1 moreCelestial pearl danio
A tiny, brightly coloured freshwater fish from Myanmar and Thailand, popular in the aquarium trade.Carp · Rivers and lakes · 2006
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreRosy bitterling
Small East Asian freshwater fish with a unique mussel-based breeding cycle.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreGolden shiner
A North American minnow used widely as bait and in pond culture.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇫🇷 FranceCommon bleak
A small, silvery freshwater fish found across Europe and Western Asia.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇹🇭 Thailand and 4 moreTinfoil barb
A large Southeast Asian freshwater fish known for its red fins and silvery body.Carp · Rivers and lakes · 1853
🇹🇭 Thailand and 1 moreHampala barb
Large predatory cyprinid from Southeast Asian rivers.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇯🇵 JapanKoi
Ornamental carp varieties bred in Japan for decorative ponds.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇳 ChinaGoldfish
A domesticated freshwater carp from China, kept worldwide as a pet and aquarium fish.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇨🇳 China and 1 moreBlack carp
A large freshwater fish native to East Asia, known for eating snails and causing ecological issues in the US.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreSmallmouth yellowfish
A hardy sport fish native to South Africa's Orange-Vaal river system.Carp · Rivers and lakes
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Harlequin rasbora: Mattia Nocciola, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ripon barbel: Georges Albert Boulenger, Public domain, source
- Sabre carp: Krüger, Public domain, source
- Siamese algae-eater: Published by Zoologische Mededelingen, at http://www.zoologischemedede, CC BY 3.0, source
- Clown barb: Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Celestial pearl danio: Cisamarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rosy bitterling: book74, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Golden shiner: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Common bleak: Piet Spaans, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Tinfoil barb: Wibowo Djatmiko ( Wie146 ), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Hampala barb: Published by Zoologische Mededelingen, at http://www.zoologischemedede, CC BY 3.0, source
- Koi: Asturio Cantabrio, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Goldfish: No machine-readable author provided. Heptagon assumed (based on copyri, Public domain, source
- Black carp: USFWS Fish and Aquatic Conservation, Public domain, source
- Smallmouth yellowfish: Craig Thom, CC BY-SA 3.0, source