Least concern
Widespread and not thought to be at risk. 148 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
🇺🇸 United States and 3 moreSockeye salmon
Anadromous Pacific salmon known for red spawning colour and zooplankton diet.Salmonid · Rivers and lakes · 1792
🇧🇼 Botswana and 1 moreAfrican tigerfish
Predatory freshwater fish known for sharp teeth and leaping hunting behaviour.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1861
🇰🇪 Kenya and 4 moreRipon barbel
A large freshwater cyprinid from East African lakes and rivers.Carp · Rivers and lakes · 1900
🇧🇷 BrazilBanded leporinus
A striped freshwater fish from the Amazon kept in home tanks and occasionally caught by anglers.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
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreBurbot
A coldwater freshwater fish with a chin whisker, native to the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇺🇸 United StatesWhite bass
A silver-striped freshwater fish native to North American rivers and lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreAlewife
A small North American herring that migrates between sea and rivers.Herring · Coasts and shelves
WorldBigeye trevally
A large marine fish found in tropical oceans, known for its nocturnal hunting and distinctive dark dorsal fin.Other · Coasts and shelves · 1825
🇧🇷 Brazil and 3 moreSpeckled peacock bass
A large South American cichlid prized for sport and food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreYellow bullhead
A medium-sized North American catfish known for its bright yellow belly and scavenging habits.Catfish · Rivers and lakes · 1819
🇺🇸 United StatesBlack bullhead
A small, hardy North American catfish that tolerates poor water conditions and feeds at night.Catfish · 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
🇺🇸 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
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
- Sockeye salmon: Timothy Knepp of the Fish and Wildlife Service., Public domain, source
- African tigerfish: Totti, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Ripon barbel: Georges Albert Boulenger, Public domain, source
- Banded leporinus: Ltshears, Public domain, source
- Bluegill: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Burbot: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- White bass: Nick Loveland, CC0, source
- Alewife: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Bigeye trevally: Jens Petersen, CC BY 2.5, source
- Speckled peacock bass: Wellerson Santana, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Yellow bullhead: Eric Engbretson/U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source
- Black bullhead: George Chernilevsky, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
- Kokanee salmon: self, CC0, source
- Sea trout: No machine-readable author provided. Wolfgang Striewski assumed (based, Public domain, source
- Brook trout: Engbretson, Eric, Public domain, source
- Brown trout: Duane Raver, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Public domain, source