Welcome to …

If you are concerned about declining fish stocks and the welfare of our seas the Marine Conservation Society FISHONLINE website can help you identify which fish are from well managed sources and/or caught using methods that minimise damage to marine wildlife and habitats.

To return to the Home page click on the word FISHONLINE in the banner.

NEW!! November 2009: MCS has published the results of the 2009 Supermarket Survey on the brand new MCS website. Please click here to see how your local supermarket has performed.

NEW!! The Good Catch Initiative! MCS has joined forces with the Marine Stewardship Council, Seafood Choices Alliance, and Sustain to help those in the foodservice industry navigate the world of sustainable seafood. For more information and to sign up to the Fish-Flash e-bulletin visit www.goodcatch.org.uk

NEW!! Secret shopper labelling campaign launched! Click here to fill in our online survey about the labelling of the fish you buy. Help us help you make the right choice for sustainable seafood. September 2008.

MCS Defines sustainable environmental practice for fish farmers, 22nd May 2007.

 Fish

To use

Select search, simply type in the name of the fish you are interested in and follow online prompts in each of the drop down menus to define your search. Each fish is given a rating based on its stock status, fisheries management and the environmental impacts of the fishing methods used.

We have provided both simple and advanced search facilities so that you can obtain a simple overview of a species, or a highly detailed response that includes information on the area of capture, and more specifically, the stock from which the fish is derived (currently applicable to North-East Atlantic stocks only) as well as its method of capture. In either search the user will be prompted to select the species of interest and its method of production i.e. whether it is ‘caught at sea’ or ‘farmed’.

In addition to background information on the state of the world’s fish stocks you will also find maps of the world's fishing areas (UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) fishing areas, and North East Atlantic stocks (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) fishing areas)), to help you identify the areas in which the fish is caught. There is also a glossary explaining terms associated with fish biology and their management as well as descriptions of the various fishing methods.

For quick reference within the site you will also find ‘Lists’ of Species to Avoid and Species to Eat. For easy reference when you are out shopping or at a restaurant MCS has also produced a Pocket Good Fish Guide. This wallet-sized list of the Fish to Eat and the Fish to Avoid is available FREE from MCS on receipt of a SAE to Marine Conservation Society, Unit 3 Wolf Business Park, Alton Road, Ross-on-Wye, HR9 5NB.

FISHONLINE has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society and designed by Juniperblue with the support of the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and Marks and Spencer plc. Information on fish stocks in the North-East Atlantic has been obtained from the most recent scientific reports published by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES May 2006) www.ices.dk. Information about World Conservation Union (IUCN) assessments and Red List fish species is available at www.iucn.org. More information on fish biology and distribution available at www.fishbase.org.

The advice given by the Marine Conservation Society is based on information available at the time of release, and is provided as a guide to consumers and buyers to make an environmentally informed choice about the fish they buy. The information does not include any advice on health benefits or risks associated with eating any particular fish species.

Fish Ratings

Each of the fish have been given a rating to enable you to quickly identify species that are considered to be sustainably and sensitively harvested, and those species which are not:

  • vulnerable to exploitation and/or assessed by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) as threatened and/or;
  • from overfished stocks and/or stocks where data is deficient and/or;
  • from poorly managed or unregulated fisheries and/or;
  • caught using methods which are detrimental to other marine species and habitat;

and are:

  • from fisheries certified as environmentally responsible.

Rating 1 is awarded to the most sustainably produced seafood including, fish from certified fisheries i.e. those certified as environmentally responsible fisheries by organisations such as the Marine Stewardship Council.

Rating 5 is awarded to fish to be avoided on the basis that all or most of the above statements apply.

Ratings 2, 3 and 4 indicate that there is an increasing cause for concern, based on the information available at the time of publication.

The rating system has been developed by the Marine Conservation Society as a guideline only, to eating the most environmentally responsible fish.
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