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Chilean sea bass (toothfish)

Eco-Worst Choice
Avoid or eat infrequently until improvements are made

Health Alert

Elevated levels of mercury.

  • Adults and kids should limit their meals.

Related Fish

Recommendations

Eco-Best

Eco-Worst

Details About Chilean sea bass (toothfish)

all Chilean sea bass

Health Details

This is an Eco-Worst choice. If you decide to eat it, we recommend the following due to elevated mercury levels:

  • Adults should eat no more than 2 meals per month
  • Kids up to age 12 should eat no more than 1 meal per month

More about seafood and health »

Eco Details

  • Marketed as Chilean sea bass, toothfish are in severe decline from overfishing.
  • Popular with consumers, they fetch premium prices, which have spurred rampant illegal fishing.
  • The longlines commonly used to catch Chilean sea bass often snag endangered albatrosses and other seabirds as they grab bait, and the birds end up drowning.
  • A small, legal and well-managed toothfish fishery in the South Georgia islands near Antarctica was recently certified as "sustainable" by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), a fisheries certification agency based in London.
  • Where available, MSC-certified Chilean sea bass is clearly preferable to uncertified fish.

Nutritional Information

Serving = 100 g of raw edible food, wild species.

Amount per serving
Calories g
Total Fat g
Total Protein g
Omega-3 0 g
Cholesterol mg
Sodium mg

Source:

More About Chilean sea bass (toothfish)

These two species of toothfish below, which both go by the market name Chilean sea bass, inhabit the frigid waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans near Antarctica.

Toothfish grow slowly and reproduce late in life, making them highly vulnerable to fishing pressure.

Species Information

This guide is produced in collaboration with the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Banner image from "Endangered Ocean" © 2007 Marian Osher.