Can babies have fish?

The verdict

Yes. The NHS lists fish among protein foods suitable from around 6 months, alongside meat, eggs, beans and pulses, and notes these foods carry iron and zinc as well as protein. Its only qualifier in the food list is two words: no bones.

Canada, Australia and the US say the same. The Canadian Paediatric Society names fish among the iron-rich foods to start with at around 6 months and says to offer iron-rich foods at least twice a day. ASCIA lists fish among the iron rich foods to offer around 6 months and among the common allergens to introduce within the first year. The AAP says there is no evidence that waiting to introduce baby-safe soft foods such as fish beyond 4 to 6 months prevents food allergy.

The fish that are ruled out

The list is short. The NHS states that all babies and children under 16 years old should avoid eating shark, swordfish or marlin, because the amount of mercury in these fish can affect the development of a baby's nervous system. Ireland's HSE names the same three for the same reason.

Methylmercury accumulates up the food chain, so long-lived predatory species carry far more of it than small, fast-growing fish. FSANZ explains the mechanism directly: the amount of mercury depends on the age of a fish, the environment in which it lives and what it eats, and big fish with long lifespans and predatory fish such as swordfish and shark tend to have higher levels than smaller, younger fish.

The second exclusion is raw or lightly cooked shellfish. The NHS says raw or lightly cooked shellfish such as mussels, clams and oysters can increase the risk of food poisoning, so it is best not to give it to babies, and that babies and children should only eat shellfish that has been thoroughly cooked. The HSE gives the same instruction.

Beyond those, fish is fish. Cod, haddock, pollock, plaice, salmon, trout, sardines, mackerel and canned tuna are all suitable in the right form.

Bones: the part people underestimate

This is the most important practical point on the page, and it is the one authorities repeat most bluntly.

The NHS instruction is to remove all bones from meat or fish. New Zealand's Ministry of Health classes food with bones, including fish, as a high-risk choking food and says for children of all ages, remove all bones. HealthLink BC lists fish bones and small chicken bones among the common causes of choking in children, and instructs that bones be removed from chicken and fish before serving. The Canadian Paediatric Society's list of foods not to give a baby ends with fish with bones.

Pin bones in salmon and trout are fine and hair-thin, and they are easy to miss. Run a finger along the flesh against the grain before cooking and pull any you find with tweezers, then flake the cooked fish apart with your fingers rather than a fork and feel for anything hard. Tinned sardines and tinned salmon contain soft, edible bones that the NHS describes as a source of calcium and phosphorus for adults; for a baby, mash them thoroughly into the flesh so no fragment stays whole.

How to serve it

Cooked fish is soft, which puts it among the easier textures. The NHS advice for meat and fish is to cut it into strips as thinly as possible and to remove any skin and fat to make it easier to swallow.

Flaked fish folded through mashed potato or a vegetable puree is the simplest early form. From around the point a baby is managing finger foods, a finger-width strip of firm white fish or a piece of salmon works well; the HSE describes finger food as cut into pieces big enough for a baby to hold in their fist with a bit sticking out, roughly the size of your own finger, and says to check for bones.

Fish fingers and battered or breaded fish are the version parents ask about most. The problem is not the fish, it is the salt and the coating. NHS guidance for this age is that babies should not eat salty foods because it is not good for their kidneys, with a limit of less than 1g of salt a day under 12 months. Some shop-bought coated fish products carry a meaningful share of that in a single portion. Check the label, and treat them as occasional rather than routine.

Fish as an allergen

Fish is one of the common allergens, and it is on every list: the NHS names fish among foods that can trigger an allergic reaction, and so do ASCIA, the AAP and HealthLink BC.

Being an allergen is not a reason to delay it. The NHS says these foods can be introduced from around 6 months as part of a baby's diet, just like any other foods, and that once introduced and tolerated they should become part of the baby's usual diet to minimise the risk of allergy. ASCIA's rule is to include common allergy causing foods at least once a week in age appropriate servings.

Introduce fish on its own rather than alongside two other new foods, so a reaction can be traced. Fish allergy and shellfish allergy are separate; a baby who tolerates cod may still react to prawns, and vice versa.

How often

UK advice for young children is at least one portion of oily fish such as mackerel, salmon or sardines a week, with a ceiling on oily fish of no more than four portions a week for boys and no more than two for girls, because oily fish can carry low levels of pollutants that build up in the body. The NHS adds that the health benefits outweigh the risks as long as the recommended amounts are not exceeded.

Australia takes a portion-size approach instead. FSANZ sets one portion for children up to 6 years at 75 grams, and for that age group limits shark or billfish to one portion per fortnight with no other fish that fortnight. That is a genuine divergence from the UK and Ireland, which rule those species out for children altogether rather than rationing them.

Canada's approach is to steer towards lower-mercury species. HealthLink BC tells parents to choose fish that are lower in mercury, naming salmon, trout, mackerel, sole, cod, pollock, halibut, herring, sardines and canned light tuna.

Where guidance differs

The exclusions agree everywhere: no shark, swordfish or marlin for babies and children, and no raw or lightly cooked shellfish.

The frequency advice is structured differently country by country. The UK counts portions per week and splits the oily fish ceiling by sex. Australia counts grams per portion by age. Canada names species rather than counting. None of these contradict each other in practice for a baby, whose portions are small in any case, but if you are working to a specific number, use the one from your own country.