Can you eat this fish?
Two different questions hide in there: does it taste good (see each species profile), and is it safe to eat regularly. We are anglers, not health professionals - so this page does not give advice. It only collects, in one place, what the official sources (the FDA/EPA federal fish advice and state consumption advisories) publish about 56 common catches, with links to those sources so you can check the current version yourself.
⚠️ Read this first: nothing on this page is our recommendation - the
categories below are the FDA/EPA's own published lists, quoted with links. Advisories
change and differ water by water. Before eating your catch regularly, check your state's
current advisory, and for any health question - especially in pregnancy, while
breastfeeding, or feeding children - talk to a doctor or your local health authority.
We do not advise; the specialists do. When in doubt, release the fish.
Best choiceFDA 'best choice' - lowest mercury (federal advice: 2-3 servings/week for those who need to be most careful)
Good choiceFDA 'good choice' - moderate mercury (federal advice: about 1 serving/week)
AvoidFDA 'choices to avoid' - highest mercury
Check your stateNot on the federal list, or wild freshwater catch - your state's consumption advisory for that water is the authority
Release itProtected or traditionally catch-and-release - not a food fish
Special warningA hazard beyond mercury (ciguatera, toxic roe) - read the note
| Species | Official category | What the sources say |
|---|---|---|
| Alligator Gar | Special warning | The flesh is edible where legal to keep - but gar EGGS are genuinely toxic to humans and pets. Never eat the roe, and check state rules; several states protect large gar. |
| Atlantic Croaker | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' - low mercury, fine pan fish. |
| Atlantic Mackerel | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' - the small Atlantic mackerel is low-mercury (unlike its king-size cousin) and rich in omega-3. |
| Black Sea Bass | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' and restaurant-grade eating. |
| Blackfin Tuna | Check your state | Not on the federal list by name - treated like other mid-size tunas; moderate mercury. Gulf-state advisories are the reference. |
| Blue Catfish | Check your state | Great eating (Chesapeake actively encourages harvest of invasive blues) - but big wild cats in some rivers carry PCB advisories. Check the water. |
| Bluefish | Good choice | FDA 'good choice' for mercury - but bluefish also tops PCB advisories in parts of the Northeast; check your state's advisory for where you fish. |
| Bluegill | Check your state | Panfish are short-lived and low on the food chain - typically the SAFEST freshwater choice on state advisories, often listed at more servings than predators. |
| Bonefish | Release it | Catch-and-release only in Florida by law; the flats economy runs on letting them swim. |
| Bonnethead Shark | Avoid | All sharks sit on the FDA avoid list for mercury. Where legal to keep, most anglers release them anyway. |
| Bowfin | Check your state | Edible but famously poor table fare ('cypress trout' is charity). If you try it, same advisory rules as any freshwater water. |
| Brook Trout | Check your state | Wild freshwater catch - safety depends on the water, so the state consumption advisory is the reference. Small, cold-stream brookies are typically low-concern. |
| Brown Trout | Check your state | Wild freshwater catch - check the advisory for your water; some tailwaters and lakes carry PCB or mercury limits, especially for big fish. |
| Burbot | Check your state | 'Poor man's lobster' - genuinely good boiled in butter. Wild freshwater rules: check the water's advisory. |
| California Halibut | Good choice | Treated like halibut on the federal list - 'good choice'. |
| Channel Catfish | Best choice | Farmed catfish is an FDA 'best choice'. Wild river cats: follow the river's advisory - bottom-feeders pick up PCBs in industrial waterways. |
| Chinook Salmon | Best choice | Salmon is an FDA 'best choice'. Great Lakes chinook fall under state PCB advisories - check the lake's listing. |
| Chum Salmon | Best choice | FDA 'best choice'. |
| Cobia | Check your state | Not on the federal list; testing shows moderate-to-high mercury in big specimens. Several Gulf-state advisories limit it - check yours. |
| Coho Salmon | Best choice | FDA 'best choice'; same Great Lakes advisory caveat as chinook. |
| Common Carp | Good choice | FDA lists carp as a 'good choice' for mercury; bottom-feeding in urban waters makes the local PCB advisory worth a look. Properly prepared, it feeds half the world. |
| Crappie | Check your state | Like bluegill: usually among the least-restricted freshwater fish on advisories, and superb fried. |
| Flathead Catfish | Check your state | Widely kept and eaten; same wild-river advisory caveat as other big cats. |
| Florida Pompano | Check your state | Not on the federal list; generally regarded as low-concern and outstanding on the plate. State advisories apply. |
| Flounder | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' - among the lowest-mercury fish you can keep. |
| Freshwater Drum | Check your state | Edible and underrated; follow the river or lake advisory as with any wild freshwater fish. |
| Great Barracuda | Special warning | The mercury is not the main problem - large barracuda are a classic source of ciguatera poisoning from reef toxins, which cooking does not destroy. Florida health authorities advise against eating barracuda at all. |
| Greater Amberjack | Special warning | Good eating in most areas, but large reef-caught amberjack carry ciguatera risk in south Florida and the Caribbean. Ask local charters what they keep. |
| Grouper | Good choice | FDA 'good choice'. Very large reef grouper in ciguatera-prone areas (south FL, Caribbean) carry extra risk - locals eat the mid-size ones. |
| King Mackerel | Avoid | On the FDA 'choices to avoid' list - among the highest-mercury fish in US waters. Catch it for the fight, not the table. |
| Lake Trout | Check your state | Long-lived and fatty - a repeat offender on Great Lakes PCB advisories. Check the specific lake's listing before keeping large ones. |
| Largemouth Bass | Check your state | Widely eaten in the South, but black bass are the most advisory-listed freshwater fish in the US for mercury. Check your state's line for the water you fish. |
| Longnose Gar | Special warning | Flesh is edible, but like alligator gar the EGGS ARE TOXIC to humans - never eat gar roe. |
| Mahi-Mahi | Good choice | FDA 'good choice'. Handle and ice it fast - poorly stored mahi (and other scombroids like mackerel and tuna) can cause histamine poisoning. |
| Muskellunge | Release it | Legal to keep in places, but muskies are old, slow-growing apex predators - the highest-mercury fish in many northern lakes, and the fishery is release-driven anyway. |
| Northern Pike | Check your state | Same story as walleye: top predator, builds mercury with age. State advisories usually suggest limits for large pike. |
| Pacific Halibut | Good choice | FDA 'good choice' - firm white fillets, one of the best-eating flatfish anywhere. |
| Pink Salmon | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' - mild, abundant, low mercury. |
| Rainbow Trout | Best choice | Freshwater trout is an FDA 'best choice'. For wild trout, your state's advisory for that water is the authority. |
| Red Snapper | Good choice | FDA lists snapper as a 'good choice' - one serving a week under the federal advice. |
| Redfish | Check your state | Slot-regulated and delicious; some Gulf estuaries carry mercury advisories for oversized reds - another reason bulls go back. |
| Sheepshead | Good choice | FDA 'good choice' and genuinely excellent, sweet flesh - the hardest part is cleaning around those bones. |
| Smallmouth Bass | Check your state | Same as largemouth - fine table fish where the local advisory allows, mercury builds in bigger ones. |
| Snook | Check your state | Tightly regulated (seasons, slots) but excellent eating when legal - follow Florida/Texas rules exactly, and the standard estuary advisories. |
| Sockeye Salmon | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' - and the richest-tasting of the Pacific salmon. |
| Spanish Mackerel | Good choice | FDA 'good choice' - about one serving a week under the federal advice. Fresh, it is excellent smoked or grilled. |
| Spotted Seatrout | Good choice | Falls under the FDA seatrout listing - 'good choice'. State advisories apply in some Gulf estuaries. |
| Striped Bass | Good choice | Ocean striped bass is an FDA 'good choice'; several states add stricter PCB advisories (Hudson, parts of Chesapeake). Check the local advisory before keeping big ones - mercury and PCBs both build with size. |
| Summer Flounder | Best choice | Flounder is an FDA 'best choice' - low mercury, delicate white fillets. |
| Tarpon | Release it | A protected gamefish in Florida (catch-and-release only over 40") and by tradition everywhere - bony, poor eating, priceless alive. |
| Wahoo | Check your state | Not on the federal list; Florida's advisory suggests limits for larger wahoo. Superb eating - just check the state line. |
| Walleye | Check your state | Excellent eating, but as a long-lived freshwater predator it accumulates mercury - most northern states publish walleye-specific limits by lake. Check yours. |
| Weakfish | Good choice | Listed by FDA (seatrout/weakfish) as a 'good choice'. |
| Winter Flounder | Best choice | FDA 'best choice' like other flounders. |
| Yellow Perch | Best choice | Perch is on the FDA 'best choices' list - and the backbone of the Great Lakes fish fry. |
| Yellowfin Tuna | Good choice | FDA 'good choice' (one serving a week guidance). Ice immediately for the same histamine reason. |
No match here. If it is a wild freshwater fish, the answer is almost always "check your state's advisory for that water" - see below.
How to actually use this
- The categories come from the FDA/EPA "Advice About Eating Fish" (fda.gov/fishadvice). Its serving numbers are written for the people who need the most caution - pregnant and breastfeeding women and young children - which makes them a conservative benchmark for everyone else.
- Wild freshwater fish are a local question. Mercury and PCBs differ lake by lake, so every US state publishes water-specific consumption advisories. Find yours via the EPA fish advisory portal or your state agency - the same agencies listed in our license directory.
- Size matters. Mercury accumulates over a fish's life - a young slot redfish and a 40 lb bull are different meals. Keeping mid-size fish and releasing the old giants is both good conservation and good chemistry.
- Two hazards cooking cannot fix: ciguatera toxin in large tropical reef fish (barracuda, big grouper and amberjack in south Florida/Caribbean waters), and gar roe, which is toxic to humans and pets even fully cooked.
- Ice your catch fast. Mackerel-family fish and mahi left warm develop histamine (scombroid poisoning) - a freshness problem, not a species problem.
⚠️ This page is a reading guide to public federal and state sources as of July 2026 - it is not advice of any kind, medical or otherwise, and we are not qualified to give any. Advisories change. The only answers that count are your state's current advisory for the specific water you fish and, for any health question, a doctor or your local health authority. If you cannot verify, do not eat it.
Know what is safe - now make it delicious: every species profile covers how each fish eats, the weight estimator sizes your catch, and the release guide covers the ones going back.