When people think of seafood, they might envision enjoying fresh crab legs on the coast or sushi at an upscale restaurant in the city. But the Great Lakes — Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario, and Superior — offer a plethora of freshwater fishy goodness.

Located in east-central North America, the five lakes comprise the world’s largest surface freshwater system, according to the Great Lakes Commission. The Great Lakes top out at six quadrillion gallons of water and a surface area of 94,000 square miles. They border eight U.S. states and two Canadian provinces, and the Great Lakes basin is home to approximately 34 million people — eight percent of the U.S. population and 32 percent of Canada’s, according to Sea Grant Michigan.

Most fish harvested in the Great Lakes region are sold locally as whole fish or processed products like fillets, smoked fish, and fish dips. Whether you call the Great Lakes home or are just passing through like a salmon on your way to the sea, there’s a Great Lakes fish with your name on it.

Here are five environmentally friendly green- and yellow-rated fish from Great Lakes fisheries. Choosing a sustainable source can help keep your favorite lakes — and the ocean they ultimately flow into — great for future generations.

The Great Lakes of North America are a series of interconnected freshwater lakes on or near the border of Canada and the United States. As the world’s largest freshwater system, the Great Lakes fishery supports more than 75,000 jobs with value in the billions of dollars.

Lake trout

Lake trout (Salvelinus namaycush) is a true conservation comeback kid. This freshwater salmon relative was on the brink of extinction in the Great Lakes in the mid-twentieth century but has since rebounded. It’s generally been considered stable in all jurisdictions in U.S. and Canadian waters since 1993. Today, approximately 89 percent of the lake trout harvested in Lake Superior is green-rated, and the rest is yellow-rated. Lake trout caught in Lake Michigan is also green-rated.

How’d that happen? Let’s consider Lake Superior. Once a thriving commercial fishery in the early 20th century, lake trout populations in the largest Great Lake crashed in the 1950s because of overfishing, habitat degradation, and invasive sea lampreys (Petromyzon marinus).

Sea lampreys, which resemble eels (though they’re not related), colonized the Great Lakes in the early 1900s following the construction of shipping canals. These parasitic fish suction-cup themselves to large, native Great Lakes species like lake trout, usually resulting in the host fish’s death. A single lamprey can kill up to 40 pounds of fish over their 12-18 month feeding period, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. 

The results were devastating. The U.S. and Canadian Great Lakes lake trout harvest dropped from an average of about 15 million pounds per year at its pre-lamprey height to about 300,000 pounds in the 1960s — about two percent of the previous average, according to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission.

Fisheries managers launched a major effort to revive lake trout. First, they closed the commercial fishery for about a decade, from 1953 to 1962. Then they stocked lake trout intensively and conducted chemical control for lampreys. In the second half of the century, restoration efforts focused on improving lake trout management, aided by the creation of an inter-jurisdictional management framework involving state, provincial, federal, and tribal agencies. The efforts paid off. In November 2024, the Great Lakes Commission declared lake trout to be fully recovered in Lake Superior.

Lake trout can be purchased fresh, frozen, smoked, or as a whole-dressed fish. A whole-dressed fish is one that has been scaled, gutted, and had its gills and fins removed, but it usually still retains its head and tail.

Lake trout was on the brink of extinction in the Great Lakes in the mid-twentieth century but has since rebounded.

Lake whitefish

Spend any time in restaurants near the Great Lakes, and there’s a good chance you’ll find a dish featuring local lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis). This salmon relative can live for over 25 years and reach a maximum weight of almost 20 pounds in the Great Lakes. The good news is this freshwater favorite can also be a great choice for the planet.

Approximately 64 percent of the lake whitefish harvested in Lake Superior is green-rated, and the rest is yellow-rated. Lake whitefish caught in Lake Michigan is also green-rated. The populations in both these lakes are healthy, and there are minimal bycatch concerns in Lake Michigan and on the U.S. side of Lake Superior. However, the Ontario, Canada Lake Superior fishery catches lake sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) — a prehistoric fish listed as endangered by International Union for Conservation of Nature. Similar to lake trout, lake whitefish was also affected by the invasion of sea lampreys but has since largely recovered thanks to strong international conservation efforts.

You can find lake whitefish fresh or frozen and as whole-dressed fish. Lake whitefish can also be found in frozen vacuum-packed fillets and prepared foods such as spreads. Lake whitefish roe is also marketed as golden caviar or sikrom.

This is Lake Superior, once home to a dominant lake herring fishery until the fish stocks collapsed in the 1960s and remained depleted for decades. But in 2023, lake herring had the greatest recruitment year since the 1970s.

Lake herring

Lake herring (Coregonus artedi), which is also known as cisco, was once the most dominant commercial species harvested from Lake Superior, making up 80 percent of the total commercial yield, with an average landing of over 13 million pounds annually. During the 1960s, most lake herring stocks in Lake Superior collapsed from overfishing, habitat destruction, and invasive species. The stock remained depleted for decades, caused in part by invasive species, increased predation pressure from stocked fish, and the recovery of other native fish species that prey on lake herring.

But in 2023, scientists confirmed that lake herring in Lake Superior had the greatest recruitment year — meaning the largest number of new fish entering a population — since the 1970s. The population’s increase helped drive a new Seafood Watch green rating for lake herring caught in Lake Superior in 2024.

Lake herring is considered a key forage fish in the Lake Superior ecosystem under Seafood Watch standards. Forage fish serve as prey for larger predators and can play an especially important role in ecosystems because they’re a crucial pathway for energy to move from the lower levels of the marine food web to the higher levels.

You can buy lake herring in fresh, frozen, or smoked forms. Cisco roe is also sold as bluefin caviar or lӧjrom. They can also be processed as fish cakes or ground and mixed with other ingredients and sold as gefilte fish.

Rainbow smelt

Small but mighty Lake Erie boasts its own green-rated fish: rainbow smelt (Osmerus mordax). In 2021, over four and half million pounds of rainbow smelt were harvested on Lake Erie’s Canadian side.

Rainbow smelt is a fish native to the North Atlantic. It was intentionally introduced to Michigan’s Crystal Lake in 1912 and has since established populations in many Great Lakes watersheds, including Lake Erie, where it was first documented in 1935. Because rainbow smelt is a nonnative species in the Great Lakes, its harvest is encouraged.

Rainbow smelt can grow up to about a foot long and live to be about seven years old. Rainbow smelt is sold as whole fresh fish, frozen, and in cans.

While commercial walleye fisheries in the Great Lakes are relatively small, you can find yellow-rated options. For example, walleye harvested in Lake Michigan by tribal fisheries using trap nets and gillnets are yellow-rated.

Walleye

In 2022, using data from thousands of Airbnb listings, a Washington Post article declared walleye (Sander vitreus) to be the “most Midwestern thing on Earth.” This freshwater fish has hooked itself into pop culture across the Great Lakes, with towns competing for the title of “Walleye capital of the world.” This large member of the perch family has inspired traditions such as a New Year’s Eve walleye drop, and it’s the namesake for at least one professional hockey team.

While commercial walleye fisheries in the Great Lakes are relatively small, you can find yellow-rated options. For example, walleye harvested in Lake Michigan by tribal fisheries using trap nets (also listed as stationary uncovered pound nets in our recommendations database) and gillnets are yellow-rated. Generally, Lake Michigan commercial walleye fisheries have low amounts of bycatch. The fishing methods used in Lake Michigan also have little to no negative impact on sensitive species like endangered lake sturgeon. Plus, most fish accidentally caught in walleye gear are returned to the water alive.

Walleye is sold as whole-dressed fish, fillets (skin on or off), and frozen as fillets or fish fingers.

Keeping the great in Great Lakes

Great Lakes fisheries have helped define a way of life in the region for centuries. Today, commercial and recreational fishing continues to provide jobs, sustenance, and joy. Michigan’s fisheries alone generate up to $7 billion annually, according to Sea Grant Michigan.

By choosing sustainable seafood – whether from our ocean, freshwater lakes, or rivers – you help to reduce overfishing, bycatch, loss of top predators, illegal fishing, and other harmful environmental impacts. Choosing environmentally sustainable fish options, like the ones listed here and other green- and yellow-rated freshwater fish, can help keep the Great Lakes a great place to live and play well into the future.

If you’re looking for guidance on even more mouth-watering Midwest fish options, check out our U.S. Central States Seafood Guide.