10 Endangered Fish—and How We Can Still Save Them

TL;DR: Overfishing is the #1 driver pushing many marine fish toward extinction, especially slow-growing, late-maturing species. Habitat loss, dams, bycatch, pollution, and climate change make things worse. Real fixes include science-based catch limits, protected spawning sites, bycatch reduction gear, fish passage at dams, traceable supply chains, and prosecuting IUU fishing—plus everyday choices you can make when you buy seafood.

Why these fish crash so easily

• Life-history trap: Many listed species grow slowly, mature late, and have few offspring—great for long lives, terrible when fishing is intense.

• Spawning bottlenecks: Some gather in tight seasonal aggregations (grouper, roughy), making entire year-classes easy to wipe out.

• Bycatch & gear impacts: Bottom trawls and gillnets catch non-targets and can damage seafloor nurseries.

• Hydrology & barriers: Migratory fishes (sturgeons, eels) need free-flowing rivers; dams and weirs block reproduction.

• Global markets: High prices and international fleets overwhelm weak local rules; IUU fishing (illegal, unreported, unregulated) thrives where oversight is thin.

The List: 10 Endangered Fishes Commonly Targeted for Food

For each species: Where it lives | Why it’s in trouble | Why it’s vulnerable | What’s helping

10) Atlantic Halibut (Hippoglossus hippoglossus)

• Range: North Atlantic (U.S./Canada to Europe).

• Trouble: Historically overfished; often bycaught in bottom trawls.

• Vulnerable because: Long-lived (~50 yrs), late maturity (10–14 yrs).

• Helping: Strict quotas/closures, avoidance of halibut hotspots, hook-and-line selectivity, habitat protections.

9) Beluga Sturgeon (Huso huso)

• Range: Caspian/Black Sea basins; migrates up large rivers.

• Trouble: Eggs sold as high-value caviar, plus spawning habitat loss from dams.

• Vulnerable because: Century-scale lifespan, very late maturity; long generation time.

• Helping: CITES trade controls, hatchery supplementation, river restoration and anti-poaching units.

8) Southern Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus maccoyii)

• Range: Southern Atlantic/Indian/Pacific; high-seas migrant.

• Trouble: Heavy fishing since the 1950s; spawning biomass once collapsed ~85%.

• Vulnerable because: Slow to mature; aggregates predictably; high market price.

• Helping: RFMO-set quotas (CCSBT), improved stock assessments, electronic monitoring, traceability.

7) Orange Roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus)

• Range: Deep seamounts (NZ, Australia, Namibia, NE Atlantic, Indo-Pacific).

• Trouble: Seamount trawling targets feeding/spawning aggregations.

• Vulnerable because: Extreme longevity (~140 yrs) and matures ~20–32 yrs.

• Helping: Closed seamounts, conservative quotas, aggregation protections, seafloor habitat closures.

6) Nassau Grouper (Epinephelus striatus)

• Range: Tropical W. Atlantic/Caribbean.

• Trouble: Heavy fishing on spawning aggregations; many sites have vanished.

• Vulnerable because: Aggregation-spawner; site fidelity; late maturity.

• Helping: Seasonal closures around aggregation windows, full harvest bans in some nations, aggregation mapping/enforcement.

5) Red Handfish (Thymichthys politus)

• Range: Eastern Tasmania (now two tiny subpopulations).

• Trouble: Loss of spawning substrate, pollution/silt, urchin overgrazing.

• Vulnerable because: Tiny range, extremely small population (~100 mature).

• Helping: In-situ habitat restoration, urchin control, captive rearing (“head-start”) and release, site protection.

4) European Eel (Anguilla anguilla)

• Range: North Atlantic, Baltic, Mediterranean; spawns in the open ocean; grows in fresh/brackish waters.

• Trouble: Overfishing of glass eels, blocked migration, climate shifts, parasites, pollution.

• Vulnerable because: Complex life cycle with multiple migration stages; slow maturation (6–30 yrs).

• Helping: Fishing moratoria/limits, fish passes, glass-eel trade controls, wetland restoration.

3) Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata)

• Range: NW Atlantic (Gulf of St. Lawrence to NC, USA).

• Trouble: Targeted for bait/meat; bycatch in trawls; juveniles misidentified.

• Vulnerable because: Slow growth, late maturity, low fecundity.

• Helping: Size/area closures, bycatch caps, gear modifications to reduce skate catches, improved ID onboard.

2) Chinese Sturgeon (Acipenser sinensis)

• Range: Historically several Chinese rivers; now mainly Yangtze/Pearl and coastal seas.

• Trouble: Overfishing; Gezhouba dam (and others) blocked historic spawning runs; natural reproduction extremely low.

• Vulnerable because: Anadromous, long-lived, late maturing; needs long free-flowing river stretches.

• Helping: Dam passage feasibility studies, protected reaches, hatchery support, strict enforcement.

1) Atlantic Bluefin Tuna (Thunnus thynnus)

• Range: N. Atlantic & Mediterranean; transoceanic migrant.

• Trouble: High-value target (sushi/sashimi), historical overfishing; complex international enforcement.

• Vulnerable because: Slow-maturing top predator; predictable spawning areas (e.g., Med, Gulf of Mexico).

• Helping: ICCAT quotas and allocation reform, electronic catch documentation, bycatch avoidance in the Gulf, area/time closures.

What actually works (and how readers can help)

Policy & management

• Science-based catch limits with buffers for uncertainty.

• Seasonal/area closures to protect spawning aggregations and juvenile nurseries.

• Bycatch solutions: circle hooks, turtle excluders, BRDs, move-on rules, hotspot forecasting.

• Habitat protections: MPAs/OMPAs, seamount/trawl closures, no-take zones.

• River connectivity: fish ladders, dam removal or operational changes, floodplain/wetland restoration.

• Traceability & monitoring: eCDT, VMS/AIS, on-board observers/EM cameras; crack down on IUU.

Smart consumer choices

• Buy traceable, legal, sustainably certified seafood (e.g., rigorous eco-labels and fishery ratings).

• Prefer hook-and-line, trap, or hand-caught over indiscriminate gears.

• Avoid known spawning-aggregation species when/where they spawn.

• Try lower-trophic alternatives (sardines, mackerel) instead of apex predators.

• Ask restaurants/fishmongers: What species? Where caught? What gear? If they can’t answer, pick something else.

Endangered Fish FAQ

Are many fish endangered?
Yes. Thousands of marine and freshwater fishes face elevated extinction risk; many are endangered or critically endangered due to overfishing plus habitat stressors.

Which kinds are most vulnerable?
Species that are long-lived, slow to mature, aggregate to spawn, migrate through dams, or fetch high market prices (e.g., sturgeons, bluefins, halibut, groupers, roughy, eels).

If I catch an endangered fish by accident, what should I do?
Release it immediately in the water if safe to do so. Note date, location, estimated size/number, behavior, and share with local fisheries/wildlife officials (photos help).

Can aquaculture solve the problem?
Sometimes—for low-trophic species or closed life-cycle aquaculture. But farming doesn’t fix wild habitat or curb IUU; focus on responsible aquaculture standards and don’t use it to justify overfishing wild broodstock.

animal tags: endangered fish

We created this article in conjunction with AI technology, then made sure it was fact-checked and edited by a Animals Top editor.