Capelin Roe (Masago)

Masago is capelin roe, the tiny fish eggs commonly used on sushi rolls and as a garnish. At spawning, the eggs are reddish and approximately 1 mm across, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. On a roll, masago gives a fine-grained coating rather than a scatter of large, conspicuous beads.

Masago is not tobiko, which comes from flying fish. One documented commercial source is Atlantic capelin, Mallotus villosus, a small schooling smelt. Pacific capelin, Mallotus catervarius, is recognised separately, so check the species on an individual product. Commercial masago may be seasoned, and its colour may come from added dyes rather than the eggs themselves.

What masago brings to a dish

Seasoning shapes masago's character as much as the roe itself. Icelandic processor Vignir G. Jónsson describes its wasabi masago as crunchy, with fish, sweet, salt and wasabi flavours. Sugar, salt and mirin all appear in the specification's ingredient list.

The spawning description is a starting point, not a specification for processed masago. Look to the individual product for those details.

Masago and tobiko: can you substitute them?

Yes, for a roll coating or scattered garnish. Sushi supplier Make Sushi explicitly describes masago as a substitute for tobiko. The texture matters: manufacturer Beijing Shipuller describes tobiko as larger and crisper, and masago as smaller and more delicate. Choose tobiko when a more pronounced crunch is central to the dish.

Read the ingredients rather than relying on the name alone. One Azuma Foods specification for a product called masago lists both herring and capelin roe. For the identity and uses of the fish behind tobiko, see flying fish roe.

A small fish with a large role

Capelin feeds cod, seabirds and marine mammals. It eats zooplankton, the small animals drifting in seawater, and passes that food energy to larger predators. Managing a capelin fishery therefore means considering the wildlife that depends on it, as well as the catch.

The fish lives in northern Atlantic, Arctic and northern Pacific waters. Fisheries include those for the Iceland, East Greenland and Jan Mayen stock, the Barents Sea stock managed by Norway and Russia, and stocks around Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada.

Japan has long been an important market for capelin. Fisheries and Oceans Canada identifies it as the primary destination for roe-bearing females when Canada's inshore roe fishery developed in the late 1970s.

How the fisheries are managed

There is no single worldwide masago quota. Catch limits apply to particular stocks and seasons. The position below was checked in November 2026; scientific catch advice and a legally agreed quota are distinct.

Iceland and neighbouring waters: On 12 October 2026, MFRI and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources jointly advised an intermediate catch of 105,773 tonnes for 2026/2027. Final advice was expected in January or February 2027.

Norway and Russia: The Barents Sea capelin quota was zero in both 2025 and 2026, closing the directed fishery. The October 2026 assessment also recommended zero catches for 2027; that recommendation should not be confused with an adopted quota.

Canada: Fisheries and Oceans Canada set a 2026 total allowable catch of 14,533 tonnes for the eastern and southern Newfoundland and Labrador management area, unchanged from 2025. Area openings, fleet allocations and monitoring requirements operate within that limit.

Look beyond the colour

Orange, black or green tells you little about the fish species or flavour. Latvian processor Sudrablīnis lists Sunset Yellow FCF (E110) in its orange masago, Brilliant Black BN (E151) with other colours in its black version, and tartrazine (E102) plus Brilliant Blue FCF (E133) in its green version.

Nor does green mean that wasabi alone supplies the colour. Vignir G. Jónsson's specification lists wasabi flavouring separately from its blue and yellow dyes. The same document reports 5.5 g salt per 100 g, not 5.5 g sodium.

Check compound ingredients as carefully as the roe. Soy sauce may introduce soya and wheat, as Make Sushi's ingredient list demonstrates, while fish roe remains a fish ingredient whatever its colour. For more on appearance, see naturally coloured roe.

Names, labels and permitted additives

“Seasoned capelin roe” gives a beginner the clearest description. US FDA guidance also allows a fish-qualified name such as “capelin caviar”, with the fish name and “caviar” in substantially the same size and prominence. It calls for a prominent declaration of artificial colour. This is nonbinding guidance, not a separate legal standard of identity.

In the EU, Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 requires food information not to mislead and sets rules for the name of a food, including a descriptive name where appropriate. Great Britain applies the assimilated regulation with domestic amendments; Northern Ireland generally follows the EU framework. A customs category does not determine whether a retail name is truthful.

Orange, black or green tells you little about the fish species or flavour.

Before reaching a compliance conclusion, check the product formulation and the current permissions and conditions for these colours in capelin roe under EU, Great Britain, Northern Ireland and US law.

Japan requires Japanese-language labelling for packaged processed foods, including the food name, ingredients, additives and storage instructions. Japan's Consumer Affairs Agency also distinguishes ingredient-origin requirements for foods processed domestically from origin labelling for imported finished products.

Serving and storing masago

Coat a sushi roll, fill seaweed-wrapped sushi or finish a poke bowl. Masago can also be stirred into a dressing or spooned over a cold seafood salad. For storage, start with the pack. Follow its storage instructions and, if frozen, its thawing instructions; another product's shelf life is no substitute. Thaw in the fridge, keep prepared roe separate from raw seafood, and use clean utensils.

In the United States, FDA home guidance recommends refrigeration at 4 °C (40 °F) or below. Follow a colder product instruction if one is specified.

Freezing does not kill every harmful germ, and a pleasant smell cannot establish safety. Use the labelled use-by date and the manufacturer's instructions after opening or thawing, rather than appearance alone, to guide when the roe should be used.

Where to go next

• Other Fish Roe: explore the wider roe family.