Saving The Oceans, One Fish At A Time: Which Fish To Eat, And Which To Avoid

If you eat fish and shellfish, as many people do, then you are right to be concerned about the animals you are consuming.  While many fish, particularly responsibly farmed fish, are perfectly fine to eat, others should not be eaten at all, both for ecological reasons, and for your health.  What may look like a perfectly nice piece of fish could be harboring heavy metals and other toxins, and some seemingly innocuous fish might in fact be endangered species.  How to tell?  We hope this guide will help you make the best choices. 

The Good List 

Before we discuss the worst fish to eat, let’s take a quick look at some fish and shellfish that are great choices: 

• Salmon – High in Omega-Three fatty acid, which is crucial to your health, salmon is a good choice.  The best choice in salmon is wild-caught Alaskan salmon.  Sake, Silver, and Coho Salmon farmed in the United States in tank systems is another good choice.  Coming in second best are Sake, Silver, Coho, Chinook, King, Sockeye, Red, and Pink salmon from British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon.

• Albacore Tuna – This is another fish that can be very good for you, so long as you eat the right type.  Look for troll or pole-caught tuna from the US Pacific and Canadian Pacific.  These fish are younger, and do not normally contain high levels of toxins. 

• Black Bass – Also known as black rock cod, black snapper, black bass, and sea bass, these fish are healthy and abundant.  Look for fish sourced from California, Oregon, and Washington, and caught via hook and line methods. 

• Sablefish – All sablefish are good choices; those caught in Alaska and British Columbia are best. 

• Pompano – A good choice, these fish are caught in Florida and grow fast.  Fisheries are well managed in the United States. 

• Striped Bass – An excellent choice.  This fish is known as “Suzuki” when used as sashimi. 

• Oysters – Abundant and healthful, Oysters are a great choice. 

• Scallops – Diver-harvested and farmed scallops are best; both sea scallops and bay scallops are abundant and grow quickly. 

• Shrimp and Prawns – Low in calories, high in protein, and abundant in most places, these can be a good choice if you know what you’re getting.  Choose those farmed in full recirculation systems or inland ponds, and look for those sourced from the US, Thailand, and Canada. 

• Catfish – Responsibly farmed or wild-caught catfish from the US is a good choice.  Swai, or catfish from Asia, is second-best but still a better alternative to many other fish on the market. 

Fish to Avoid

Many of the fish you ought to avoid are found in supermarkets and on restaurant menus.  If you are considering ordering fish while dining out, do some quick research on the source prior to deciding what to order.  

• Atlantic Salmon – Be careful with this one.  Often farmed and kept in unhealthy conditions, and a threat to wild populations, these salmon are the cheapest and most abundant in the supermarket.  Wild caught Atlantic Salmon are OK to eat; just look out for the farmed variety. 

• Albacore Tuna – With the exception of the Albacore described in the “OK to eat” section, this tuna is best avoided.  The largest tuna contain high levels of mercury and other toxins; look for those certified as “sustainable” to the standard of the Marine Stewardship Council.

• Orange Roughy – Often marketed as a delicacy, orange roughy are endangered deep sea fish that can live to be 100 years old or older.  Reproducing late in life, and growing slowly, they are often caught by harmful bottom trawling methods.  These fish contain high amounts of toxins, including mercury, and should never be eaten. 

• Red Snapper – Also called Pacific Snapper, these so called “snappers” are rockfish caught with bottom trawling methods that are harmful to ocean’s ecosystem. 

• Shark – Sometimes referred to as dogfish or rock, shark should not be consumed, not only because sharks are endangered top predators for the most part, but also because their meat contains high levels of mercury and other toxins. 

• Atlantic Sole – Marketed as flounder, flatfish, fluke, or hirame, Atlantic Sole are overfished, and are threatened.  Pacific Sole is a better choice. 

• Atlantic Sardines – Overfished and declining rapidly, these little fish should not be consumed.  Look out for imports from the Mediterranean; though delicious and good for you, they come from depleted populations.  Choose Pacific Sardines instead. 

• Shad – Also known as White Shad, Atlantic Shad, and American Shad, these fish are rapidly declining and are showing no sign of recovery.  Sold as Shad Roe and Shad Filets, they are normally available only in spring. 

• Skate – Sometimes marketed as imitation scallop or Raja Fish, skates are severely overfished and should not be consumed.  In addition, fishing methods used to capture them, including bottom trawling, are not sustainable.

• Imported Swordfish – While it’s okay to eat swordfish in moderation, so long as it is from the United States, Canada, or Europe, avoid eating swordfish not certified as sustainable.  Imported swordfish is often caught with nets that injure and kill birds, sharks, and sea turtles.

• Imported Sturgeon – Russian sturgeon and other European sturgeon are endangered. Prized for their caviar, they are often marketed as White Sturgeon, Stellate, and Beluga.  Sturgeon from the Pacific Northwest and farmed sturgeon are a better choice. 

• Tilapia from Taiwan and China – While Tilapia farmed in the US, Brazil, Costa Rica, Honduras, and Ecuador are a good choice, those farmed in developing nations are often raised in polluted conditions.  Limit Tilapia consumption in general; it contains more Omega-Six than Omega-Three.  Excess Omega-Six has been linked with a number of undesirable health conditions. 

• Bluefin Tuna – While most tuna are OK to eat in moderation, depending on where they’re sourced, Bluefin are being overfished to the point of extinction.  In some places, the fish are being “ranched”, with young wild tuna being kept in captivity until they reach market size; this does not increase their numbers nor does it allow them to reproduce.  In addition, they are often contaminated with PCB’s and mercury. Never eat Bluefin tuna.

• Tongol Tuna – Although abundant, Tongol Tuna are often caught in gillnets, resulting in excess bycatch.  Those caught by pole or troller are ok to eat; avoid gillnetted and purse-seined varieties.

• Atlantic Sea Trout – Also known as weakfish, gray sea trout, or squeteague, this species is overfished, plus individuals have been found to contain high PCB contaminant levels.  Natural mortality is on the rise as well, for reasons scientists have not been able to determine. 

• Chilean Seabass – High in mercury and caught with unsustainable methods for the most part, including by longline methods that hook and drown thousands of Albatross annually, these fish should be avoided.  In rare cases, restaurants and markets are able to provide certified chain of custody Chilean Seabass that is certified as sustainable.  Expect to pay a premium for this fish.

• Conch – Overfished worldwide, and pressured due to pollution, this is a poor food choice.  Often mating late in life, the species is experiencing a sharp decline.

• Monkfish – Marketed as gourmet fare, and also known as goosefish, lawyer fish, molligut, bellyfish, ankoh, and ankimo, these fish are most often caught by bottom trawling and gillnetting methods that damage the environment and kill turtles, birds, dolphins, and other animals.  Though delicious, this is a fish you should avoid for purely environmental reasons. 

• Atlantic Halibut – Due to elevated PCB levels, this fish is not the best choice.  In addition, the population has been severely overfished.  Pacific Halibut, particularly Canadian and Alaskan Halibut, are great choices. 

• Marlin – Imported Marlin is an extremely poor choice as populations are declining and fishing methods tend to be unsustainable; Marlin from Hawaii is better.  Be careful though; the Marlin population is susceptible to elevated mercury levels.   

• Sea Turtles – Though not a fish, this animal deserves special mention.  Over-hunted to the brink of extinction, these animals should never be eaten.

As you can see, how and where fish are caught or farmed matters.  There are a number of excellent resources available online for learning more about which fish and shellfish are good choices, and which are not; Monterey Bay Aquarium has even released an app for iPhone and Android called Project Fish Map that lets you determine where to find the selections that are best.  As consumer demand for responsibly fished and farmed seafood increases, world fisheries will continue to make strides toward improvement.