Endangered Seafood Guide

The 2021 Endangered Seafood Guide by WWF International advises companies to avoid sourcing seafood species listed as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, as well as those in CITES Appendix I and II. The document emphasizes the necessity of robust traceability to prevent seafood fraud and the accidental sourcing of at-risk species. It specifically warns against 'ranched' aquaculture, where wild endangered fish are removed to be raised in controlled settings, as this increases pressure on wild populations. For sustainable alternatives, WWF recommends the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) for wild-caught seafood and the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) for farmed seafood, suggesting 'closed-cycle' (hatchery-reared) aquaculture as a minimum requirement when ASC certification is unavailable. The guide provides detailed fact sheets on high-risk groups including bluefin tuna, freshwater eels, sharks, and sturgeon, noting that some species, such as the totoaba, are subject to illegal poaching for high-value organs like swim bladders.

• WWF recommends that companies avoid sourcing any species categorized as Endangered or Critically Endangered by the IUCN Red List, as well as those listed in CITES Appendix I and Appendix II.
• For wild-caught seafood, the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) is identified as the most credible environmental certification, while the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) is recommended for farm-raised seafood.
• The practice of removing wild endangered species for 'farming' or 'ranching' is strongly discouraged because it places additional pressure on depleted wild populations and can facilitate the mixing of illegal wild-caught fish into farmed supply chains.
• Closed-cycle aquaculture, which uses hatchery-reared fingerlings, is recommended as a way to minimize impacts on wild populations when ASC certification is not available.
• Freshwater eel populations are severely threatened by man-made barriers, hydroelectric turbines, and illegal trafficking, with Europol estimating that 100 metric tons of juvenile eels are illegally moved from Europe to Asia annually.
• Bluefin tuna populations have been severely impacted by overfishing, with the Spawning Stock Biomass (SBB) estimated to have declined by more than 80% globally since the 1970s.
• The totoaba is endemic to Mexico's Gulf of California and is poached for its swim bladder, a delicacy in Chinese cuisine; this illegal fishing also causes the bycatch of the critically endangered vaquita.

APA

WWF International (2021). Endangered Seafood Guide. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/529/4gk4pp12v9_Endangered_Seafood_Guide_2021.pdf

Chicago

WWF International. Endangered Seafood Guide. 2021. https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/529/4gk4pp12v9_Endangered_Seafood_Guide_2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=WWF International |title=Endangered Seafood Guide |date=April 2021 |url=https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/529/4gk4pp12v9_Endangered_Seafood_Guide_2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{wwfinternational2021endangered, author = {{WWF International}}, title = {{Endangered Seafood Guide}}, institution = {WWF International}, year = {2021}, month = apr, url = {https://www.worldwildlife.org/documents/529/4gk4pp12v9_Endangered_Seafood_Guide_2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }