Fish is still good food

By Lois A. Levin/ Special To The Tab

 

Many species of fish that were once abundant have become scarce. In fact, there is increasing evidence that wild fish stocks are collapsing all over the world.

Fish is an extremely healthy food, despite the serious problem of mercury contamination of many fish species. (The US government has issued warnings that some types of fish are especially risky for pregnant women and children.)

How are responsible shoppers supposed to know which types of fish are harvested sustainably, so that we can all continue to enjoy this healthy food?

In our area, we are fortunate to have markets and restaurants that offer environmentally-responsible fish options. Here is the list of "best Eco-choices"from Environmental Defense's Oceans Alive Campaign:

Abalone (US farmed)

Anchovies

Arctic char (US & Canadian farmed)

Catfish (US farmed)

Caviar (US farmed)

Clams (butter, geoducks, hard, littlenecks, Manila)

Crab (Dungeness, snow from Canada, stone)

Crawfish (US)

Halibut (from Alaska)

Herring (Atlantic sea herring)

Mackerel (Atlantic)

Mahimahi/dolphinfish (US from the Atlantic)

Mussels (farmed blue, New Zealand green)

Oysters (farmed Eastern, European, Pacific)

Sablefish/black cod (from Alaska)

Salmon (wild from Alaska)

Sardines

Scallops (farmed bay)

Shrimp (Northern from Newfoundland, US farmed)

Spot prawns

Striped bass (farmed)

Sturgeon (farmed)

Tilapia (US)

For more information on these and hundreds of other fish, visit www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm. Pocket Seafood Selector (c)September 2005 Environmental Defense, New York, NY

Permission to reprint this info given to GDC's Marcia Cooper (marciac@aol.com) on Oct. 6 by Kathleen Goldstein (KGoldstein@environmentaldefense.org).