Least concern
Widespread and not thought to be at risk. 60 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
🇧🇯 Benin and 4 moreSaddled bichir
A large African freshwater fish with primitive lungs and multiple dorsal finlets.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1845
🇧🇼 Botswana and 1 moreAfrican tigerfish
Predatory freshwater fish known for sharp teeth and leaping hunting behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1861
🇸🇳 SenegalNile bichir
An ancient African fish with lungs and armour-like scales.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
Sub-Saharan AfricaSynodontis
A large African genus of spotted catfish known for squeaking sounds and belly-up swimming.Catfish · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGreen sunfish
A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to North America, known for its blue-green colour and invasive potential in nPerch-like · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreWolf fish
A predatory freshwater ray-finned fish found across Central and South America.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreMexican tetra
A freshwater characin with surface and blind cave forms, studied for evolutionary biology.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 BrazilBanded leporinus
A striped freshwater fish from the Amazon kept in home tanks and occasionally caught by anglers.Other · Rivers and lakes
Southeast AsiaGiant snakehead
A large freshwater predator from Southeast Asia known for air breathing and invasive potential.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreBluegill
A common North American sunfish known for its blue gill covers and popularity with anglers.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1854
WorldAnglerfish
Ray-finned fish using a modified dorsal fin ray as a lure to catch prey.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1829
🇺🇸 United StatesLeast killifish
A tiny North American fish that gives birth to live young and measures just two centimetres long.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
🇯🇵 JapanJapanese rice fish
Small freshwater fish native to Japan and a key model organism.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreLargescale four-eyes
Surface-dwelling fish with split eyes for dual vision.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇧🇷 Brazil and 4 moreRed-bellied piranha
A widespread South American freshwater fish known for its omnivorous diet and shoaling behavior.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇧🇷 Brazil and 1 moreRed-bellied Pacu
A large South American freshwater fish related to piranhas, farmed for food and kept in aquariums.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇰🇭 Cambodia and 4 moreGyrinocheilus aymonieri
A Southeast Asian freshwater fish known for its suction-like mouth and role in the aquarium trade.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇯🇵 JapanRanchu
A hooded goldfish breed from Japan with no dorsal fin and a rounded body.Other · 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
- Saddled bichir: Studdart, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- African tigerfish: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Nile bichir: Boulenger, George Albert; Loat, L., Public domain, source
- Synodontis: Paweł Cieśla Staszek_Szybki_Jest, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Green sunfish: Duane Raver, Public domain, source
- Mexican tetra: User:Haplochromis, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Wolf fish: J. F. Hennig, Public domain, source
- Banded leporinus: Ltshears, Public domain, source
- Giant snakehead: George Chernilevsky, Public domain, source
- Bluegill: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Anglerfish: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Least killifish: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Japanese rice fish: NOZO, CC BY 3.0, source
- Largescale four-eyes: Michael Gäbler, CC BY 3.0, source
- Red-bellied piranha: Gregory Moine, CC BY 2.0, source
- Red-bellied Pacu: Omnitarian, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gyrinocheilus aymonieri: Pseudogastromyzon, Public domain, source
- Ranchu: Lerdsuwa, CC BY-SA 4.0, source