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
🇪🇬 Egypt and 4 moreNile tilapia
A hardy cichlid farmed globally for food.Cichlid · Rivers and lakes · 1758
WorldNile perch
Large freshwater predator native to Africa, now invasive in many lakes.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇵🇭 Philippines and 4 moreMilkfish
The sole living species of the family Chanidae, found across the Indo-Pacific.Other · Coasts and shelves
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreLongnose gar
A primitive ray-finned fish with a long snout and armored scales found in North America.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇲🇽 Mexico and 2 moreTropical gar
A small freshwater predator from Central America known for its armored scales and air-breathing ability.Ancient · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreGar
Ancient armored fish with lung-like swim bladders found in North American waters.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇧🇯 Benin and 4 moreSaddled bichir
A large African freshwater fish with primitive lungs and multiple dorsal finlets.Ancient · Rivers and lakes · 1845
🇷🇺 Russia and 4 moreSabre carp
A silvery surface feeder from Eastern Europe and Asia.Carp · Rivers and lakes
WorldThree-spined stickleback
Small northern fish known for rapid evolution and complex breeding.Other · Rivers and lakes
🇷🇺 Russia and 3 moreBurbot
A coldwater freshwater fish with a chin whisker, native to the Northern Hemisphere.Other · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇷🇺 Russia and 1 moreRuffe
A small, aggressive freshwater fish native to Eurasia that has become a major invasive pest in North America.Perch-like · Rivers and lakes · 1758
🇺🇸 United StatesLeast killifish
A tiny North American fish that gives birth to live young and measures just two centimetres long.Livebearer · Rivers and lakes
🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreMosquitofish
Small North American fish introduced globally for mosquito control.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
Photo credits on this page
The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.
- Nile tilapia: Bjørn Christian Tørrissen, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Rohu: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Nile perch: Pavel Zuber, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Milkfish: Wiki Farazi, CC0, source
- Longnose gar: USFWS Mountain-Prairie, Public domain, source
- Tropical gar: AlejandroLinaresGarcia, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Gar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
- Saddled bichir: Studdart, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Sabre carp: Krüger, Public domain, source
- Three-spined stickleback: Gilles San Martin, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
- Burbot: Unknown author, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Ruffe: Tiit Hunt, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Least killifish: Brian Gratwicke, CC BY 2.0, source
- Mosquitofish: NOZO, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
- Japanese rice fish: NOZO, CC BY 3.0, source
- Largescale four-eyes: Michael Gäbler, CC BY 3.0, source