Low-Mercury Fish in India: Safe Picks for Pregnancy

The lowest-mercury fish you can buy in Mumbai and Thane are the ones on the US FDA/EPA “Best Choices” list: sardine (tarli), prawns (shrimp), salmon, crab, squid and sole. The FDA/EPA advice for pregnancy is 2 to 3 servings a week from that list, a serving being 4 ounces (about 113 g). Shark (mushi) is on the FDA’s “Choices to Avoid” list. Indian mackerel (bangda), pomfret and surmai are not on the FDA chart, so we explain below what is and isn’t known about them.

Every number in this post comes from a source listed under Sources at the bottom.

This is general information, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, planning a pregnancy or breastfeeding, please check with your doctor before changing what you eat.

Why does mercury matter in pregnancy?

Fish is recommended in pregnancy, and mercury is the reason the advice comes with a list. The FDA says “fish intake during pregnancy is recommended” because moderate evidence shows it can help the baby’s cognitive development, and that fish supplies omega-3 fats (DHA and EPA), iodine and choline. ICMR-NIN’s Dietary Guidelines for Indians (2024) also notes, in its pregnancy guideline, that fatty fish is a good source of long-chain omega-3 fats.

The FDA/EPA sorted fish by how many servings a week a pregnant person could eat without going over mercury limits. Fish that could be eaten three or more times a week became “Best Choices”, once or twice a week “Good Choices”, and less than once a week “Choices to Avoid”.

Which fish are on the FDA/EPA lists, in Indian names?

FDA/EPA group	Fish on the list you can find in India
Best Choices (2 to 3 servings a week in pregnancy)	Sardine (tarli), shrimp (prawns, kolambi), salmon, crab, squid, sole, lobster, clam, oyster, anchovy, mullet, tilapia, catfish
Good Choices (1 serving a week in pregnancy)	Grouper, halibut, snapper, Spanish mackerel, carp, yellowfin and albacore tuna
Choices to Avoid (highest mercury)	Shark (mushi), king mackerel, swordfish, marlin, bigeye tuna, orange roughy, tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico

The FDA list was written for fish sold in the US. When a species is missing from it, the FDA says it “did not have enough reliable mercury data to include it”. It does not say that a missing fish is safe or unsafe.

Where do bangda, pomfret, bombil and surmai fit?

These are the fish most Mumbai families buy, and none of them is named on the FDA chart.

Bangda (Indian mackerel, Rastrelliger kanagurta). The FDA’s Best Choices include Atlantic mackerel and Pacific chub mackerel, which are different species. Bangda itself is not listed.
Pomfret (paplet) and halwa (black pomfret). Not on the FDA chart.
Bombil (Bombay duck). Not on the FDA chart.
Surmai (kingfish, Scomberomorus commerson). In India surmai is often called “kingfish”, but it is not the FDA’s “king mackerel”. FishBase gives surmai’s English name as narrow-barred Spanish mackerel; the FDA’s king mackerel is Scomberomorus cavalla, a West Atlantic fish. Both are in the same genus. The FDA puts king mackerel on its avoid list and “Spanish mackerel” under Good Choices, but surmai is neither of those species, so the chart does not settle it. If you are pregnant, ask your doctor about surmai, or pick a fish that is clearly on the Best Choices list.

What does Indian data say about mercury in local fish?

The Indian Food Composition Tables 2017 (IFCT 2017, ICMR-NIN) measured mercury for some fish. We converted IFCT’s micrograms per 100 g to parts per million (ppm) so you can compare with the FDA’s figures (1 µg per 100 g = 0.01 ppm).

Fish	IFCT 2017 mercury (µg per 100 g)	Same value in ppm	Regions sampled
Bombil (Bombay duck)	0.90	0.009	2
Tarli (oil sardine)	1.49	0.015	1
Halwa (black pomfret)	1.70	0.017	1
Bhetki (barramundi)	5.87	0.059	1
Hilsa	0.52	0.005	2

For comparison, the FDA’s monitoring table gives mean mercury of 0.013 ppm for sardine, 0.009 ppm for shrimp, 0.73 ppm for king mackerel (Gulf of Mexico) and 0.979 ppm for shark.

Read these carefully:

IFCT left the mercury cell blank for white pomfret, bangda, surmai, tiger prawns and shark. A blank is not zero: IFCT also leaves swordfish blank, and swordfish is on the FDA’s avoid list. For those fish, IFCT simply gives no number.
Most IFCT mercury values come from one or two regions, so they are a small sample. A single fish can differ by size, age and where it was caught.

How much fish can you eat in pregnancy?

From the FDA/EPA advice:

Pregnant or breastfeeding: 2 to 3 servings a week from Best Choices, or 1 serving a week from Good Choices. One serving is 4 ounces (about 113 g). The FDA also cites 8 to 12 ounces a week of lower-mercury seafood for this group.
Children aged 1 to 11: 2 servings a week from Best Choices. Serving sizes by age are 1 ounce (1 to 3 years), 2 ounces (4 to 7), 3 ounces (8 to 10) and 4 ounces (11).
Fish caught by family or friends (from a creek or lake, for example): check local advisories. If there is no advisory, the FDA says eat only one serving and no other fish that week.
Ate a fish from the avoid list by mistake? The FDA says one serving is not a cause for alarm; choose from Best or Good Choices going forward.

ICMR-NIN’s guidelines say a portion of dal in a pregnant woman’s diet can be swapped for fish, chicken, meat or eggs. For more on feeding children, see which fish is best for kids.

How should fish be cooked in pregnancy?

The FDA’s food-safety advice for pregnant women:

Cook finfish to an internal temperature of 145°F (63°C). Without a thermometer, cook it until it is opaque (milky white) and flakes with a fork.
Cook prawns until the flesh is opaque (milky white).
Avoid raw or undercooked fish and shellfish, including sushi, sashimi, oysters, clams, mussels and scallops.

A well-cooked tarli fry, prawn curry or steamed fish fits all of these.

FAQ

Which is the safest fish to eat in India during pregnancy? The fish clearly on the FDA/EPA Best Choices list: sardine (tarli), prawns, salmon, crab, squid and sole. Shark (mushi) is on the avoid list.

Which fish has the lowest mercury? In the FDA’s monitoring table, shrimp (0.009 ppm) and sardine (0.013 ppm) are among the lowest. In IFCT 2017, bombil measured 0.90 µg per 100 g (0.009 ppm).

Is surmai (kingfish) safe in pregnancy? Surmai is not the FDA’s “king mackerel”, and it is not on the FDA chart at all, so there is no FDA category for it. Ask your doctor, or choose a Best Choices fish instead.

Should I eat fish when pregnant? The FDA recommends it, 2 to 3 servings a week from Best Choices, because fish can help the baby’s cognitive development. Check with your doctor about your own diet.

Is canned tuna safe in pregnancy? The FDA puts canned light tuna (including skipjack) under Best Choices and albacore (white) tuna under Good Choices. Bigeye tuna is on the avoid list.

Buying low-mercury fish

Verified sellers on Relifish list prawns, tarli, pomfret and other fish each day, cleaned and cut if you ask. You can see what is in today on today’s fish list.

You might also like: fish protein and omega-3, fish by fish and omega-3 fish for heart health.

Sources

US Food and Drug Administration and EPA. Advice about Eating Fish (advice revised October 2021). Best / Good / Avoid lists, servings and serving sizes, locally caught fish.
US FDA. Questions & Answers from the FDA/EPA Advice about Eating Fish. How the categories were set; fish not on the chart; eating an avoid-list fish by mistake.
US FDA. Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012). Mean mercury in ppm for sardine, shrimp, king mackerel and shark.
US FDA. Meat, Poultry & Seafood (Food Safety for Moms-to-Be). Cooking temperature and raw seafood.
Longvah T, Ananthan R, Bhaskarachary K, Venkaiah K. Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. PDF at nin.res.in. Table 5 (Minerals and Trace Elements), mercury column, µg per 100 g edible portion: Betki P005, Bombay duck P007, Hilsa P017, Pomfret black P055, Sardine P071; blank for Mackerel P034, Pomfret white P057, Shark P072, Vanjaram P087, Xiphinis (swordfish) P091, Tiger prawns Q008.
ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition. Dietary Guidelines for Indians 2024, Guideline 2 (pregnancy and lactation), pages 13 and 17. PDF at nin.res.in.
FishBase: Scomberomorus commerson, narrow-barred Spanish mackerel and Scomberomorus cavalla, king mackerel.