Save Our Seafood (S.O.S) Guide

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A number of endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species, including the Steller sea lion, Chinook salmon, sharks, inhabit the same waters, and therefore may interact with the Alaska pollock. Bycatch in this fishery is relatively low. Discard rates in the pollock fishery have decreased in recent years. The Alaska pollock has an important role in the ecosystem that continued fishing for this species may cause negative ecosystem changes such as changes in the food web system. Available information indicates that the fishery mainly occurs on sand, gravel or mud as well as in sponge-beds, hence the impact on habitat is moderate.

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Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) are highly migratory fish found in both the subtropical and temperate waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans and to some extent in the Mediterranean Sea. They are large fish with lengths of up to 140cm and can weigh up to 45kg. Albacore tuna are listed as Near Threatened on IUCN’s list for threatened species. The Southern albacore total allowable catch was decreased in response to the 2013 assessment which indicated the stock is overfished. The updated assessment indicated that the Southern albacore stock is no longer considered as overfished or undergoing overfishing.

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Tuna longline fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean have very high bycatch rates and are documented to threaten protected seabird populations, notably albatrosses and petrels. Also, a multitude of protected and vulnerable sharks as well as marine mammals, sea turtles and billfishes, such as overfished blue and white marlin, are incidental bycatch of this fishery. Since Atlantic bluefin tuna is in a high trophic level, cascade effects on food webs are likely. Pelagic longlines are not damaging sensitive benthic habitats.

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The North East Artic cod stock is in a healthy stock (2015) and under good management plan. Proper management of the fisheries also enable reduction in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing of the fisheries. Spatial and temporal closure of fishing areas are also in place to protect juveniles and control fishing activities.

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This production method is an open net-pen system with direct interaction to the marine environment. This means that all fish waste, uneaten feed and antibiotics used enter the environment and accumulate in sediments. In addition, farm escapes have been a major cause of concern for their impact on the wildlife population. Disease and parasites have also been regularly recorded in past years. The production system uses chemicals regularly, which could potentially impact the environment.

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These strong, torpedo-shaped fish are built for speed and agility, with extra finlets and keels, and a forked caudal (tail) fin on a narrow caudal peduncle. One of the most popular tuna fishes in the world, skipjacks also have a specialised circulatory system that helps conserve heat and makes them somewhat warm-blooded.

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Balat or sandfish is a species of sea cucumber in the family Holothuriidae. Sandfish are harvested and processed into "beche-de-mer" and eaten in China and other Pacific coastal communities. Because of its high value, population of wild sandfish in Malaysia is decreasing with over-harvesting, habitat destruction and illegal fishing as the main causes. Sandfish is also categorised as endangered under the IUCN red list.

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The snubnose pompano, also called the snubnose dart, golden pompano, and golden pomfret, is an Indo-Pacific species of pompano in the family Carangidae. It is a pelagic fish associated with rocky reefs, coral reefs as well as inshore habitats. Snubnose pompano is a popular aquaculture species in Malaysia.

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Chinese Silver Pomfret is under the family of Stromateidae (Butterfishes). They occurs seasonally singly or in small schools over muddy bottoms. This species may enter estuaries and feeds on zooplanktons and also small benthic animals They are mainly caught by trawl which are considered very detrimental to the environment as they are non selective, prone to habitat destruction and by catch of ETPs.

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The Alaska salmon fisheries are managed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) and current stocks is healthy. There are special Commercial salmon regulations in place regarding each Salmon fishing area in Alaska. The management is largely effective. The fisheries also take part in Fisheries Improvement Projects and are partly MSC certified.

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Interaction with endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species results could be high using the midwater otter trawls harvest method. The discard rate of this fishery is low.  Bycatch accounts for about 12% of the catch and the proportion of juveniles is estimated to be between 20-30% of the catch. Negative impacts on the ecosystem are unlikely. Chances of contact with the seabed for this capture method is low, hence impact on habitat is unlikely.

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No stock characterization or indirect stock status indicators exist for Casio cuning within Malaysia. Details on the species biology are not available. Given the widespread overfishing within the Indopacific region, and specifically in Malaysia and Indonesia, the stock(s) of C. cuning are likely to be overfished and/or suffering overfishing. Bottom-set gillnets are non-selective gear with a high impact on Endangered, Threatened, Protected (ETP) species. Effects in the benthic communities and in the marine trophic webs cannot be assessed due to the absence of information. There is no management for this species or details are unavailable.

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Scads a schooling species, occurring mostly in open water and common in insular habitats. Sometimes near the surface but usually taken in depths between 40 and 200 m. They feeds primarily on smaller planktonic invertebrates. No detail information is available on the stock health and the biology of this species due to data deficiency. Common harvest method are purse seine, which are more selective.

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No stock assessments are available. John's Snapper is highly vulnerable to fishing pressure. In general, fisheries resources are considered significantly overfished in the region. Bottom trawling threatens endangered species like turtles. Discards are considered to be low and all catch retained and landed, leading to high amounts of juveniles and non-target low value fish. Unregulated bottom trawling is mentioned as cause for ecosystem changes and damaged corals and benthic sessile organisms. The effectiveness of the management cannot be determined as data and information is missing.

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Sharks are carnivorous and eat fish (including other sharks) as well as larger animals such as seals. Others, like the whale shark and the basking shark, feed on tiny plankton or krill. Despite their fearsome reputation as ruthless predators, sharks are much more likely to be killed by humans than the other way around. WWF is working to stop overfishing of sharks to make sure these magnificent animals continue to thrive in the oceans, and to reduce demand for unsustainably produced fin and meat.

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The orange spotted grouper is a species of fish in the family Serranidae. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove, open seas, shallow seas, subtidal aquatic beds, coral reefs, estuarine waters, intertidal flats, and coastal saline lagoons. They are commonly caught by bottom trawl which are considered very detrimental to the environment as they are non selective, prone to habitat destruction and by catch of ETPs

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This is a data-deficient fishery. No stock assessments for Plectropomus species have been carried out within Malaysia.However, indirect stock status indicators show major declines in fish productivity. Pletropomus spp. are considerably vulnerable to fishing pressure due to their biological traits. The overexploitation of Pletropomus spp. in this region is linked with its high demand as a highly-priced export in the Live Reef Fish Trade. Single handline is a very selective fishing method, with a negligible habitat impact, low discard rates and a likely low bycatch of non-target species. However, the removal of territorial top predators in habitats like coral reefs is likely to cause trophic cascade effects. Some management measures have been established by a few countries with important Plectropomus catches, although they are not specifically addressed to the management of coral trout / grouper fisheries. Moreover, there are stocks, species and countries with no related management plans.

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The humphead wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus) is a large species of wrasse mainly found on coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific region. Males are typically larger than females and are capable of reaching lengths of up to 2 meters from tip to tail and weighing up to 180 kg, but the average length is generally a little less than 1 meter. Females rarely grow larger than one meter in length. The humphead wrasse is long-lived, but has a very slow breeding rate. Individuals become sexually mature at four to six years, and females are known to live for around 50 years, whereas males live a slightly shorter 45 years. The humphead wrasse is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red list and in Appendix II of CITES. The threats to this species includes overfishing, habitat destruction, cyanide fishing and fish bombing.

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Overfishing is the largest threat in the ray's marine realm, as it is for most sharks. Some of the most valuable fins in the shark fin trade are from shark-like rays, such as sawfishes and large guitarfishes, while the meat of many species of rays and skate are also eaten in coastal communities.

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This is a very data-deficient fishery. The biology of the species is poorly known and hence it vulnerability to fishing mortality cannot be properly assessed. Given the widespread overfishing within the Indopacific region, and specifically in Malaysia and Indonesia, the stock(s) of S. leptolepis are likely to be overfished and/or suffering overfishing. Bottom-set gillnets are non-selective gear with a high impact on ETP species. There is no management for this species or details are unavailable.

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In 2013, 17,000 tons of barramundi were produced in Malaysia: 23 ton in freshwater cages, 6,650 tons in brackishwater cages and 10,328 tons in brackishwater ponds. There has been a recent shift from marine shrimp to barramundi farming in brackish water ponds in Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. The risk of disease infections is generally lower in ponds compared to open cage culture due to the more isolated grow-out area and lower water exchange rates. However, detrimental effects on soil fertility and salinization of soil and water bodies are a critical issue. Malaysian small farms still depend on trash fish feeding with a high Fish Feed Dependency Ratio (FFDR).

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Scomberomorus commerson is listed as “Near Threatened“ on the IUCN Red List. The stock in the South Western Pacific has not been evaluated for stock distribution and stock assessment among the various countries where the stock straddles during different periods of the year. Moreover, there is shortage of data on catches landed for this species in the various countries within the region. Hook and lines are highly selective and hence have much less bycatch and discards than most other fishing gears. Management systems exist in each fisheries areas however detailed informations about measures and regulations are hardly available. The Spanish mackerel (Scomberomorus commerson) is a mackerel of the Scombridae family found not only in a wide-ranging area centering in Southeast Asia, but as far west as the east coast of Africa and from the Middle East and along the northern coastal areas of the Indian Ocean, and as far east as the South West Pacific Ocean. Scomberomorus commerson is listed as “Near Threatened“ on the IUCN Red List. The stock in the South Western Pacific has not been evaluated for stock distribution and stock assessment among the various countries where the stock straddles during different periods of the year. There is shortage of data on catches landed for this species in the various countries within the region. The common catch method which is the hook and lines are highly selective and hence have much less bycatch and discards than most other fishing gears.

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Tilapia are mainly freshwater fish inhabiting shallow streams, ponds, rivers, and lakes, and less commonly found living in brackish water. Historically, the species was introduce in Malaysia in the 1940’s due to it’s increasing importance in aquaculture. Tilapia in Malaysia are mainly cultured in earthen ponds and also cages in lakes/ rivers. ASC-certified tilapia is currently available in the market, coming from a local farm in Tasik Temenggor, Perak and internationally from Indonesia and China.

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In the past, there have been reported incidents of interactions with endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species such as seabirds, sea turtles, sharks and rays and marine mammals. Notably, after two decades of relatively steady but slow growth, the population of the North Atlantic right whale (NARW) has declined since 2010. Due to the small number of individuals, the fishery has caused significant damage to the NARW population. NARW get entangled by traps and pot lines. The discard rate and bycatch of non-ETP species are low. Pots and traps have moderate to low impact on benthic habitats.

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The blue mussel (Mytilus edulis), also known as the common mussel, is a medium-sized edible marine bivalve mollusc in the family Mytilidae, the mussels.

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This fishing gear is not likely to cause significant damage to endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species. The discard rate of this fishery is low, and all the discarded species are discarded alive. Western Australian Rock Lobster is a key species in the ecosystem, while the current stock status is healthy. The impact of the fishery on the ecosystem is negligible. Lobsters inhabit reef habitat, thus some impact on the habitat by traps is likely but generally low compared to potential effects of other fishing methods.

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Squids are member of the class Cephalopoda. They are mainly soft-bodied, have a small internal skeleton in the form of a rod-like gladius or pen, made of chitin. Squids are rapid swimmers, moving by jet propulsion, and largely locate their prey by sight. Currently stock status of squid in Malaysia is unknown due to data deficiency. Common method of catch is trawl which are considered very detrimental to the environment as they are non selective, prone to habitat destruction and by catch of ETPs

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Choose WWF-Malaysia's Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) farmed tiger prawn as an alternative.

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Choose WWF-Malaysia's Aquaculture Improvement Project (AIP) farmed shrimp as an alternative.

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A species of crab found in the North Sea, North Atlantic Ocean and perhaps in the Mediterranean Sea. It is a robust crab of a reddish-brown colour, having an oval carapace with a characteristic "pie crust" edge and black tips to the claws. A mature adult may have a carapace width of up to 25 cm (10 in) and weigh up to 3 kg (6.6 lb). This crab is a nocturnal predator, targeting a range of molluscs and crustaceans. The stock is considered to be data-limited. Due to the lack of data the stock size is rated unknown. But the few available landing data and information from adjacent areas indicates that abundance and fishing rate is stable to ensure the long-term productivity. Pot fisheries are well known to have minor effects on the entire ecosystem. The fishery is not likely to cause significant damage to endangered species.

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Mud crabs are mostly found in estuarine and sheltered coastal habitats and, in general, large populations are usually associated with established mangroves, especially in estuaries. They are mainly scavengers feeding on detritus. Mud crabs are commonly caught using traps. Various reports shows that the population of mud crab is reducing mainly due to overfishing and mangrove habitat destruction.

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Soft-shell crab is a culinary term for mud crabs that have recently molted their old exoskeleton and are still soft. Soft-shells are harvested as soon as they molt or, preferably, just before to prevent any hardening of their shell. The source of crab is taken from the wild and cultured in trays.

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Significant impacts on endangered, threatened, protected (ETP) species are unlikely. The discard rate of this fishery is high but has a high survival rate. Bycatch of non-target species is restricted in the king crab fishery. Ecosystem changes and impact on the benthic habitat are considered low for the trap fishery.