Healthy Fish to Eat This Summer

With all the recent publicity of ocean pollution it's a bit frightening to think about what effect industrial waste not to mention nuclear pollution from the Japanese reactor has on the fish we eat. Often we don't know exactly where they have come from or what contamination they have faced. Here is an article that will help you decide which are the healthiest for you and your family. It's written by the staff of The Center for Food Safety. The articles are well researched and documented with references. Here's their charts:

Healthy Fish to Eat This Summer

West Coast	East Coast
Abalone (farmed)	Mahi Mahi (troll, pole)
Albacore Tuna (troll, pole)	Shellfish (mussels, oysters, clams) (farmed)
Dungeness Crab	Snapper (preferably Yellowtail)
King Salmon (AK) (pole, troll)	Stone Crab
Oregon Pink Shrimp	Striped Bass ( also known as Rockfish) (hook & line, farmed)
Pacific Cod (hook & line, longline & trap)	Swordfish (harpoon, troll, pole)
Pacific Halibut	Yellowfin Tuna (troll, pole)
Rainbow Trout (farmed)
Sablefish (also known as Black Cod or Butterfish) (Alaska wild)
Salmon (Alaska wild)
Sardines (Pacific) (US wild-caught)
Shellfish (mussles, oysters, clams (farmed)
Striped Bass (also known as Rockfish) (hook & line or farmed)
White Seabass (hook & line)

Fish to Avoid Eating

West Coast	East Coast
Orange Roughy	Orange Roughy
Atlantic (farmed) Salmon	Atlantic (farmed) Salmon
Sharks	Sharks
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna	Atlantic Bluefin Tuna
	Atlantic Cod

Basically it's a good idea to avoid fish that live a long time and are very large in size as they have probably built up a larger amount of pollutants. In addition, sharks and Tuna eat smaller fish rather than plankton and again build up a higher toxic level. It's also recommended that you eat local wild-caught fish as they are less apt to be polluted. Most outlets for fish sales must now state where the fish has come from. Lastly, avoid fish species that have become endangered due to over-fishing. It's a big problem these days. Unlike the trees in the forest, as people can't see how many fish are left under the water. To learn more, click here.