Identification Guide To Live Reef Fish in Hong Kong’s Wet Markets
Live reef food fish (LRFF) are a staple of nearly every Hong Kong family’s diet. But do you know that threatened species and juvenile fish that have not had a chance to reproduce are commonly found in wet markets in Hong Kong?
Do you know the impact of your fish choice could result in a world without fish?
About
Hong Kong’s Wet Markets
In 2017, 41 commonly seen live reef food fish species were identified in Hong Kong’s wet markets. These included 7 threatened* species (5 vulnerable and 2 endangered) and 17 near threatened species.
The remaining 17 species have not been assessed. This means we don’t know if the fish populations are at a healthy level. Overall, the increasing demand for these fishes has been driving a decrease in their populations, so stop, think and take action before your next visit to the wet markets.
To help you buy the right fish we have developed an Identification Guide to Live Reef Food Fish in Hong Kong’s Wet Market for you.

Play video
What can you do when buying fish at a wet market?
1
Don’t buy the AVOID species listed in our website and the WWF Seafood Guide, such as shark and humphead wrasse, and more!
2
Ask your vendor: What is the species? Is it farmed or wild-caught? Where does it come from? With such information, you can use the WWF seafood guide to verify if the species is recommended or avoided.
3
Don’t buy threatened species such as Hong Kong grouper, squaretail coralgrouper, leopard coralgrouper and more!
4
Don’t buy juvenile fish. You can tell if a fish is juvenile by the length of the fish in the Identification Guide to Live Reef Food Fish in Hong Kong’s Wet Markets. Eating juvenile or young fish means you are depleting their populations before they can reproduce.
- DON'T EAT JUVENILES
- Ask your vendor questions
- Don't buy AVOID species
Identification Guide To Live Reef Fish in Hong Kong’s Wet Markets

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Glossary
Extinct (EX) – Species doesn’t exist anymore
Extinct in the Wild (EW) - Known only to survive in captivity
Critically Endangered (CR) - Extremely high risk of extinction in the wild
Endangered (EN) – Very high risk of extinction in the wild
Vulnerable (VU) - High risk of endangerment in the wild
Near Threatened (NT) - Likely to become endangered in the near future
Least Concern (LC) - Lowest risk. Widespread and abundant
Data Deficient (DD) – Lacking data on abundance or distribution
Not Evaluated (NE) – Has not yet been evaluated against the criteria
What is IUCN Red List of Threatened Species?
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species is a well-known assessment systems for classifying the probability of extinction of plants, animals, and other organisms in the world.
-
Not Evaluated (NE)
-
Data Deficient (DD)
-
Least Concern (LC)
-
Near Threatened (NT)
-
Vulnerable (VU)
-
Endangered (EN)
-
Critically Endangered (CR)
-
Extinct in Wild (EW)
-
Extinct (EX)
WWF Seafood Guide Recommendations Glossary

Seafood comes from well-managed fisheries where seafood is caught or farmed in an eco-friendly way, the preferred choice for consumption.

Seafood comes from fisheries that are at risk of becoming unsustainable. Only consume this seafood occasionally.

Seafood comes from unsustainable fisheries, and is over-exploited, caught or farmed in an eco-unfriendly way. Avoid consuming seafood from this category.


Barramundi

Black nibbler

Blackhead seabream

Blue-barred parrotfish

Brown-marbled grouper

Camouflage grouper

Chocolate Hind

Common rockfish

Common sea bass

Coral grouper

Crescent sweetlips

Duskytail grouper

Fan-bellied leather jacket

Flathead grey mullet

Gilt-head bream

Goldspotted spinefoot

Highfin grouper

Hong Kong grouper

Humpback grouper

Jarbua terapon

Leopard coralgrouper

Longfin grouper


Malabar blood snapper


Mangrove red snapper

Orange-spotted grouper

Red seabream

Redmouth grouper

Reeve’s moray

Sabah grouper

Short barbled velvetchin

Snubnose pompano

Spotted coralgrouper

Spotted knifejaw

Squaretail coralgrouper

Star snapper

Threadsail filefish

Tomato hind

Weedy stingfish

White-spotted spinefoot

Yellow grouper

Yellow-edged lyretail
