繁體中文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 (hyperlinked) for you.1
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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
