Brill | Good Fish Guide | The consumer guide to sustainable seafood

Common name - Brill

Scientific name - Scophthalmus rhombus

Average rating

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Consumer Information

Brill belongs to a small family of left-eyed flatfish. They are mainly taken as by-catch in beam trawl fisheries for plaice and sole in the North Sea. Also taken as by-catch in trawl and net fisheries. Avoid eating brill beam-trawled from the North Sea as the catch is often undersized and the stock overfished. Do not eat immature brill (less than 40cm) trawled from any area as these will not have had a chance to spawn. Brill is sold as whole steaks and fillets and is sometimes used as an alternative to turbot, although farmed turbot represents a more sustainable choice. Brill is similar to turbot but has slightly smaller flakes and a sweeter taste.

Summary

Fisheries for this species are poorly managed. Due to lack of data there is no assessment of brill populations or stock.The state of the stock is unknown and the only management advice is that catches should not increase. Landings of brill derive mainly from the North Sea where it is taken as bycatch in beam trawl fisheries for plaice and sole. These fisheries are associated with substantial damage to seabed flora and fauna and high discarding of juvenile fish. Choose brill caught by demersal otter trawl, or static nets rather than beam trawled fish. Avoid eating immature brill (less than 30cm) caught by any method as small fish will not have had chance to reproduce and contribute to stock recovery.

Alternatives

(Based on method of production, fish type, and consumer rating: only fish rated 3 and below are included.)

Dab
Flounder
Halibut, Atlantic
Sole, Dover sole, Common sole
Sole, Lemon
Turbot
Yellowfin sole

Visit Fishonline, the website for the seafood industry, for more detailed information about this species.