Least concern
Widespread and not thought to be at risk. 182 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
🇲🇲 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
🇮🇩 IndonesiaKuhli loach
A slender, nocturnal freshwater fish from Southeast Asia popular in aquariums.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1846
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 4 moreStone loach
A small European freshwater fish that hides under gravel and hunts at night.Other · 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
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreKokanee salmon
A landlocked freshwater form of the sockeye salmon found in North America and Japan.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes
🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 3 moreSea trout
Anadromous form of brown trout that migrates between sea and rivers.Salmonid · Between sea and river
🇯🇵 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
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreBrook trout
A colorful freshwater char native to eastern North America, known for its spotted pattern and status as a popular game fSalmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1814
WorldBrown trout
A widespread salmonid with river, lake and sea forms.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreArctic grayling
A cold-water salmon relative with a large, colourful dorsal fin.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1776
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAtlantic stingray
Small stingray found in Atlantic coastal waters and fresh rivers.Ray · Rivers and lakes · 1824
🇿🇦 South Africa and 4 moreSmallmouth yellowfish
A hardy sport fish native to South Africa's Orange-Vaal river system.Carp · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreOcellate river stingray
A widespread freshwater stingray from South America known for its spotted disc and popularity in large aquaria.Ray · Rivers and lakes
🇹🇷 Turkey and 4 moreAnchovy
Small, oily forage fish found in oceans and some rivers worldwide.Herring · Coasts and shelves
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
- Celestial pearl danio: Cisamarc, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rosy bitterling: book74, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Kuhli loach: Iidkk, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Stone loach: Michal Maňas, CC BY 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
- Kokanee salmon: self, CC0, source
- Sea trout: No machine-readable author provided. Wolfgang Striewski assumed (based, Public domain, 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
- Brook trout: Engbretson, Eric, Public domain, source
- Brown trout: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Arctic grayling: No machine-readable author provided. AKSMITH assumed (based on copyrig, CC BY-SA 2.5, source
- Atlantic stingray: ksr8s, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Smallmouth yellowfish: Craig Thom, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ocellate river stingray: Raimond Spekking, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Anchovy: Unknown author, Public domain, source