The bounty of fish indigenous to the Mediterranean, coupled with worldwide imports to Israel, gives those of us here an almost unprecedented number of choices for fish to cook. To help sort out which is which, I have compiled a list of fish that can be found in Israel.

It is a shame that fish cookery for most people comes down to salmon, tuna, and gefilte, with the occasional overbaked-in-oil tilapia (musht). The wide range of choices – fresh and frozen – available here can really broaden your repertoire and palette.

To add to the confusion. not all fish have the same names. My method for determining the correlation between Hebrew and English was to determine the scientific name of the species, then use several resources to determine the exact Hebrew name for that species, or, in case of conflicting information, I used a consensus.

With thousands of kosher fish species, the list is by no means comprehensive. If there is a particular fish you don’t see on the chart, please comment below and I will add it.

English Name	שם מקובל	Hebrew Pronunciation	Photo
Alaskan Pollock	זהבנון	Zahabnon
Albacore tuna	טונה, טונה לבנה	Tuna, tuna levana
Anchovy	אנשובי	Anshoovi
Arrowtooth flounder	שטצד פציפי	Shattzad Patzifi
Barramundi	ברמונדי	Baramundi
Blue runner	תרחון	Tarachon
Bream	זהבון	Zahabon
Cod	קוד	Kod, ze’ev yam
Common carp, Mirror Carp	קרפיון	Karpion
Common dolphin-fish, mahi-mahi	רעמתן	Ra’amatan
Common grey mullet	בורי	Burri
Flounder	דג סנדל	Dag Sandal
Frigate tuna (mackerel family)	פלמודה	Palmudah
Galilee St.Peter’s fish; Mango tilapia	מושט אביאד	Musht, Amnon, Tilapia
Gilt head sea bream	דניס	Denis
Grass carp	קרפיון	Karpion esev
Greater amberjack	אינטיאס	Intias
Grouper	לוקוס	Lokus
Haddock	חמור ים	Chamor Yam
Hake	מרלוזה, בקלה	Marluza, Bakala
Halibut	הליבוט	Putit, halibut
Herring	הרינג	Herring
Jordan St. Peter’s fish; Blue tilapia	מושט	Musht, Amnon, Tilapia
Kinneret bleak (carp)	סרדין טבריה	Sardine Tiveria
Longhead barbel (carp)	כרסין	Karsin
Mackerel	מקרל	Mackerel
Meagre (drum)	עיט הים	Eit Hayam
Nile Perch	נסיכה נילוס	Nisichah Nilus
Pink Dentex (Red Snapper)	פארידה	Faridah
Plaice	פלייס	Plaice
Pollack	פולוק	Polok
Red drum	מוסר	Musar
Round sardinella	דקה	Daka
Salmon	סלמון	Salmon
Sea Bass	לברק	Levrak
Shad or Whitefish	עלוזה	Aluzah
Shi drum	לבט	Levet
Silver carp	כסיף	Kasif
Skipjack Tuna	טונה, טונה בהירה	Tuna, tuna behirah
Spanish Mackerel	פלמידה לבנה	Palmidah Levanah
Striped Bass	בס	Bass
Striped Red Mullet	ברבוניה	Barbunia
Striped sea bream	מרמיר	Mormir
Trout; Rainbow Trout	פורל	Forel
True Sole, Dover Sole	סול	Sol
Turbot	פוטית	Putit
Yellowstripe scad	צנינית צהובת פסים	Tzninit tzahubah pasim
Yellowtail amberjack	אינטיאס	Antias, Shula