10 Fish You Should Steer Clear of Ordering at a Restaurant (And What to Choose Instead)

10 Fish You Should Steer Clear of Ordering at a Restaurant (And What to Choose Instead)

Eating seafood is often a fantastic way to enjoy a healthy and nutritious meal. However, not every fish you see on a restaurant menu is a safe or ethical choice. Many options raise serious red flags. Some contain dangerous levels of heavy metals like mercury, while others suffer from severe overfishing, destructive harvesting practices, or frequent menu mislabeling. To help you navigate your next dining experience, here is an in-depth guide to 10 fish you should completely avoid, along with smarter, tastier, and much safer alternatives that protect both your personal health and the planet.

🌊 Based on recommendations from the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch, FDA, and NOAA.

🚫 1. Chilean Sea Bass (aka Patagonian Toothfish)

Why avoid: This fish has become incredibly popular in upscale restaurants, but its popularity has come at a massive cost. It is severely overfished across the globe. Because these fish live in deep, cold waters, they grow very slowly and take a long time to reproduce, making it incredibly hard for their populations to recover. To make matters worse, commercial fishers often catch them using longlines, a destructive method that accidentally traps and kills vulnerable seabirds and other marine life.

✅ Better choice: Black cod (sablefish). This alternative offers the exact same rich, buttery texture that people love about sea bass. It is packed with healthy omega-3 fatty acids and comes from well-managed, sustainable U.S. fishing stocks.

🚫 2. Bluefin Tuna

Why avoid: This iconic fish is currently critically endangered. Due to the massive global demand for high-end sushi and steaks, bluefin tuna populations have plummeted by over 97% in certain ocean regions. Because they sit at the very top of the marine food chain and live for a long time, their bodies also tend to accumulate high, unsafe levels of mercury.

✅ Better choice: Albacore tuna (troll- or pole-caught) or U.S. farmed yellowtail (hamachi). Both options are delicious, highly sustainable, and have a much lower impact on the delicate ocean ecosystem.

3. Imported Farmed Shrimp (especially from Asia/Latin America)

Why avoid: Cheap imported shrimp often carries a heavy environmental and human cost. Industrial shrimp farms in developing regions are frequently linked to the widespread destruction of coastal mangrove forests, which protect shorelines from storms. Additionally, these crowded farms often rely heavily on chemical antibiotics to keep diseases at bay, and the industry has faced serious scrutiny for labor abuses. Furthermore, the “fresh” shrimp you see on ice at restaurants is almost always just industrial shrimp that was previously frozen and thawed out.

✅ Better choice: U.S. wild-caught shrimp (Gulf or Atlantic) or certified organic farmed shrimp. Look for shrimp sourced from local areas like Texas, or look for international farms that carry strict BAP/ASC certifications to ensure eco-friendly practices.

🚫 4. Swordfish

Why avoid: Swordfish is a large predatory species, meaning it eats smaller fish and absorbs all of their contaminants over its lifespan. As a result, it carries very high mercury levels. In fact, the FDA explicitly advises against it for pregnant people/kids and nursing mothers. The commercial longline fishing gear used to catch swordfish also creates a lot of bycatch, accidentally injuring sea turtles, sharks, and marine mammals.

✅ Better choice: Mahi-mahi. This fish offers a wonderfully mild flavor and a firm texture that holds up beautifully on a grill. It reproduces very rapidly in the wild and contains very little mercury.

🚫 5. Orange Roughy

Why avoid: This unique deep-sea creature lives up to 150 years! Because they have an extremely long lifespan, they take an exceptionally long time to mature and reproduce. Decades of intensive commercial fishing have pushed these populations to near collapse, and recovery will take generations. Because they live for over a century, their flesh also builds up high concentrations of toxic mercury.

✅ Better choice: Pacific halibut or U.S. farmed barramundi. Both of these alternatives provide a beautifully flaky, mild flavor profile while being sourced from highly responsible, carefully monitored fisheries.

🚫 6. Atlantic Cod (especially from New England/Canada)

Why avoid: Atlantic cod was once the backbone of the North American fishing industry, but decades of severe overfishing completely devastated the local stocks. Despite strict catch limits and decades of conservation efforts, these fish populations are still struggling to recover to safe levels. Ordering this item puts unnecessary pressure on a fragile ecosystem.

✅ Better choice: Pacific cod (Alaska). This species is highly abundant, managed under some of the strictest sustainability laws in the world, and delivers the exact same classic flavor and texture you expect from cod.

🚫 7. Tilefish (Atlantic/Gulf)

Why avoid: Tilefish should be skipped purely for health reasons. They are bottom-dwelling predators that accumulate massive amounts of heavy metals. The FDA lists it among top 4 to avoid because its mercury levels are simply too high for safe, regular human consumption.

✅ Better choice: Snapper (U.S. wild-caught) or grouper (from U.S. Gulf with caution). These fish provide excellent flavor, but always remember to quickly check for local sustainability guidelines before you order.

🚫 8. Unagi (Freshwater Eel)

Why avoid: If you love sushi, you are likely familiar with unagi. However, the way it is sourced is highly unsustainable. Most unagi is raised in farms, but these farms rely on catching wild-caught juvenile eels (glass eels) because they cannot breed them easily in captivity. Taking these young eels out of the wild is pushing the entire species toward absolute extinction. Additionally, wild eels often contain high levels of industrial pollutants like PCBs.

✅ Better choice: Grilled salmon or mackerel. These options provide the same rich, oily, and savory experience while supporting sustainable fishing practices.

🚫 9. Farmed Salmon (unless certified)

Why avoid: Conventional farmed salmon is typically raised in open-net pens directly in the ocean. These crowded underwater cages allow fish waste, uneaten chemical feed, and heavy antibiotics to pollute the surrounding open waters. These crowded environments also act as breeding grounds for sea lice and diseases that easily spread to wild salmon populations swimming nearby.

✅ Better choice: Wild Alaskan salmon (seasonal) or certified closed-containment farmed salmon. When buying farmed salmon, always look for ASC or BAP labels to ensure the fish was raised in a contained system that does not harm the ocean.

🚫 10. Grouper (imported or unverified)

Why avoid: Seafood fraud is a massive issue, and grouper is one of the fish that is most frequently mislabeled on restaurant menus. Cheap, lower-quality fish is often substituted for it. Furthermore, many genuine international grouper species are heavily overfished or caught using destructive bottom fishing gear that damages fragile coral reefs.

✅ Better choice: U.S. black sea bass or farmed cobia. These choices offer the same firm, meaty texture that chefs love, but they come from highly eco-friendly sources.

💡 Smart Ordering Tips

Whenever you dine out, you can protect your health and the oceans by keeping a few simple tips in mind:

• Ask questions: Do not be afraid to look at your server and ask, “Where is this from? How was it caught/farmed?” Reputable restaurants will know the answers and will be proud to share them with you.

• Use apps: Keep information right at your fingertips. Download Seafood Watch (Monterey Bay Aquarium) for real-time guidance on which species are currently safe and sustainable to buy.

• Choose whole fish: If a restaurant serves whole fish, consider ordering it. A whole fish is much harder to mislabel than pre-cut fillets, ensuring you actually get what you pay for.

• Go seasonal/local: Ordering fish that is caught locally drastically reduces transport emissions and directly supports your regional fishing communities.

Choosing your seafood dinner carefully isn’t just about enjoying a tasty meal—it is a direct vote for the ocean’s future.

You don’t need to memorize every rule. Just remember: When in doubt, go for U.S. wild-caught, fast-growing, and certified. Because the best meal isn’t just delicious—it’s one you can feel good about from first bite to last.