Sustainable cod & haddock buying guide

Classic fish & chips are made with cod or haddock. Haddock is found only in the Atlantic Ocean, and there are two species of cod: Atlantic and Pacific cods. The majority of cod and haddock sold in the U.S. are from certified sources we recommend. However, most Atlantic cod should be avoided, so it’s important to know what to buy and what to avoid.

Quick buying guide

Buy Pacific cod caught in Alaska or Canada.
Buy haddock caught in the U.S.
Buy Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified cod and haddock, except MSC certified cod from Russia.
Buy Atlantic cod caught if you confirm it was caught with pole-&-lines in the U.S. Georges Bank or U.S. Gulf of Maine (scroll down for more information).
Avoid all other Atlantic cod caught in the U.S. or Canada. Atlantic cod populations are depleted, and the accidental catch or entanglement of other marine life is a serious concern.

What to buy or avoid?

Atlantic cod

Atlantic cod has a special place in American history. As far back as the 1600s, Atlantic cod fishing attracted early settlers to the New England coast. This economically and culturally important industry was a way of life for hundreds of years until overfishing drove the fishery to collapse in the early 1990s. Today, Atlantic cod populations are overexploited in the U.S. and listed as endangered in Canada, but fishery managers are working to rebuild the populations.

Buy Atlantic cod caught in the U.S. Georges Bank or U.S. Gulf of Maine from businesses that provide fishery source information and have committed to selling sustainable seafood. This increases the likelihood you’re purchasing yellow-rated Atlantic cod. It’s yellow-rated when caught with pole-&-lines, but the rest is red-rated, and it may be difficult for consumers to distinguish between yellow- and red-rated sources.
Avoid all other Atlantic cod caught in the U.S. or Canada. Atlantic cod populations are depleted, and the accidental catch or entanglement of other marine life is a serious concern.

View our Atlantic cod recommendations on SeafoodWatch.org

Pacific cod

Most Pacific cod populations in the U.S. are healthy. In Canada, there are concerns about recent declines in the population’s abundance, but overfishing isn’t occurring.

Buy Pacific cod caught in Alaska.
Buy Pacific cod caught in British Columbia, Canada.

View Pacific cod recommendations on SeafoodWatch.org

Haddock

Haddock populations are healthy in the U.S. Georges Bank and U.S. Gulf of Maine.

Buy haddock caught in the U.S. Georges Bank and U.S. Gulf of Maine.

View haddock recommendations on SeafoodWatch.org

Blue circular badge with a scalloped edge containing a white checkmark in the center.

Certified cod

Buy Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified cod and haddock, except for MSC certified cod from Russia. The majority of cod and haddock sold in the U.S. is MSC certified.

View certified cod and haddock recommendations on SeafoodWatch.org

Sushi

When sold as sushi, cod is called tara.

Follow the above tips and check the Seafood Watch Sushi Guide for quick reference.

More about our cod and haddock recommendations

When are cod and haddock environmentally sustainable?

Cod rated green by Seafood Watch is the most environmentally sustainable because it comes from a healthy population, and the well-managed fishery has minimal to no impact on other marine life and habitats. Farmed cod is rated green when producers have minimal impacts on wild species and the environment. Currently, no haddock fisheries are rated green, and haddock isn’t farmed.

Cod or haddock rated yellow means management of the fishery is considered moderately effective or better, but there are concerns about the population, bycatch impacts, or both. When farmed cod is rated yellow, it means there’s significant uncertainty about the impacts on wildlife and the environment, or there’s one issue that needs substantial improvement.

Cod rated red by Seafood Watch is not environmentally sustainable because it comes from an overexploited population, bycatch of other marine life is a significant problem, fishery management is considered ineffective, or a combination of these issues. Currently, there are no red ratings for haddock

Learn how we can make seafood sustainable

What are the main cod and haddock fishing methods?

Several fishing methods are used to catch cod and haddock, and some are more prone to accidentally capturing other marine life. Typically, there’s a greater risk of bycatch when cod is caught with trawls, gillnets, or longlines, and haddock is caught with trawls or longlines. However, in well-managed fisheries–such as Alaska’s cod fisheries–a variety of measures can significantly reduce the amount of bycatch, even when these methods are used.

Seafood Watch’s ratings also cover cod and haddock caught with handlines and hand-operated pole-&-lines, and cod caught with boat seines or trap nets. These more selective methods tend to have fewer bycatch impacts.

Here’s a quick look at these fishing methods:

Boat seines encircle and herd fish using a long wall of netting with a smaller mesh bag that retains the catch.
Bottom trawls herd fish into a cone-shaped net as they’re dragged along the seafloor.
Handlines and hand-operated pole-&-lines catch fish with one or more fishing lines with baited hooks. This fishing method is also described as pole-&-lines.
Pots are cage-like gears with one or more openings that fish can easily enter but are difficult to exit.
Set gillnets entangle fish when they swim into stationary netting positioned on or near the seafloor.
Set longlines are stationary fishing lines with baited hooks positioned on or near the seafloor.
Trap nets have a narrow opening that leads to a fixed, enclosed chamber, making it difficult to exit. Trap nets are oriented to take advantage of fish movement or migration patterns.

Learn more about fishing and farming methods

How to use this guide

Our green, yellow, and red ratings indicate environmental risk. We use our ratings and third-party certifications to make our recommendations.

Choose

Green-rated seafood because environmental risks are low.
Yellow-rated seafood because environmental risks are moderate.

Avoid

Red-rated seafood because environmental risks are high, often due to overfishing, poor management, or harm to marine life and habitats.

Where to find sustainable seafood

When shopping or dining out, start by asking, “Do you sell sustainable seafood?” You may need to ask what species it is and where and how it was caught or farmed. If the business can’t answer or the label doesn’t provide this information, our Popular Seafood Guide can help you choose another ocean-friendly option.

More retailers and restaurants are sharing where their seafood comes from and how it was caught. But not all businesses have this information. When you ask questions, you help create demand for sustainable seafood and encourage businesses to offer it.

Grocery stores

We work with grocery stores to implement time-bound commitments to follow Seafood Watch recommendations. MOM’s Organic Market and PCC Community Markets follow our recommendations. Whole Foods Market follows our recommendations for wild seafood and has a proprietary standard for farmed seafood.

Restaurants

We work with major restaurant chains—including California Fish Grill and The Cheesecake Factory—that are implementing their sustainable seafood commitments.

Meal delivery services

Blue Apron and Hello Fresh only send their customers green-rated, yellow-rated, or certified seafood. Other meal delivery services may offer sustainable seafood, and we encourage you to ask them if they don’t.

Learn more about our collaborations on SeafoodWatch.org