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RiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-NicolaRiversEl Niño seen disrupting fish migration patternsSpeciesScientists Discover Mysterious New Fish in the Red Sea – and Have Never Seen It AgainOceanEye to eye with Britain's hidden sharks at SharkAdemy - OceanographicRiversIn October, biologists surveying a New York harbor for invasive fish pulled up a bright yellow one. It wasn't an invasive species at allOceanShedd Aquarium Sends Shark Eggs to Bolster Wild PopulationsSpeciesA rare fish has been found in Lake Ontario, North America, whose entire body is golden. It is a nati..OceanThe Great Sea Reef Is Fiji’s Wildest Dive, and a New Frontier for ConservationOceanEckerd College professor contributes to designating Biscayne Bay an Important Shark and Ray AreaSpeciesRio Verde Grande Survey Identifies Fifty-Three Fish Species Facing Flow ReductionsFisheriesAdams River Salmon Run in Thompson-Nicola
EveryFish

Least concern

Widespread and not thought to be at risk. 286 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

IlishLeast Concern globally, though local runs have fallenRohuAbundant thanks to farmingCatlaWidespread in farms and riversIndian mackerelA common schooling fish of the Indo-PacificSkipjack tunaThe most caught tunaAtlantic bluefin tunaMoved from Endangered to Least Concern in 2021Yellowfin tunaMoved to Least Concern in 2021Atlantic herringWidespread in the North Atlantic

Further reading

GroupSharkRayCarpCatfishSalmonidHerringCodTunaPerch-likeCichlidReef fishEelFlatfishLivebearerAncientOther
WaterRivers and lakesEstuaries and mangrovesCoasts and shelvesCoral reefsOpen oceanDeep seaPolar and cold seasCaves and springsBetween sea and river
UseFood fishFarmedAquarium fishSport fishingCulture and faithVenomous or dangerousInvasiveScience and research
OrderBest knownA to ZOldest firstNewest firstBy size
🇸🇷 Suriname and 2 moreRedeye piranha A large freshwater fish from South America with a rhombus-shaped body and red eyes.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMexican tetra A freshwater characin with surface and blind cave forms, studied for evolutionary biology.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇦🇴 Angola and 3 moreAtlantic mudskipper Semi-aquatic goby that walks on mudflats in West Africa.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1766 WorldThree-spined stickleback Small northern fish known for rapid evolution and complex breeding.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇯🇵 JapanJapanese rice fish Small freshwater fish native to Japan and a key model organism.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇰🇭 Cambodia and 3 moreMoonlight gourami A small, silvery labyrinth fish native to Southeast Asian rivers and swamps.Other · Rivers and lakes 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreStone loach A small European freshwater fish that hides under gravel and hunts at night.Other · Rivers and lakes WorldNorthern whiting A widespread marine fish found in the Indo-Pacific, known for its silvery body and ability to bury itself in sand.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1775 🇻🇪 Venezuela and 3 moreBlack ghost knifefish Nocturnal electric fish from South American riversOther · Rivers and lakes · 1766 🇳🇿 New Zealand and 1 moreSprat Small forage fish of the genus Sprattus and related genera in the herring family.Herring · Coasts and shelves 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAlligator gar A large, primitive freshwater fish native to North America known for its armored scales and air-breathing ability.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1803

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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