TORONTO – Canadians trying to make healthy meal choices may be turning to seafood with hesitation – while fish is packed with protein and omega-3 content, there’s worry over mercury levels and other chemical contamination.
But American researchers have created a rule of thumb that can help consumers in restaurants and the grocery store choose the safest cuts of fish: in a nutshell, healthy seafood is sustainable seafood, they say.
“In general, larger longer-lived fish are more likely to have exposure to toxins due to the length of their lives and their place on the food chain,” Leah Gerber, lead author and professor at the Arizona State University, said in a release.
“So you might be best served to stay away from them – like Bluefin Tuna or Sturgeon. Besides, these stocks have been depleted by fishing,” she said.
While analyzing existing data on over 40 species of fish, researchers at Arizona State University looked at sustainability, health metrics, such as omega-3 fatty acid and mercury content.
Turns out, healthy choices for us were also ecologically-friendly choices, too.
“If the fish is sustainable, then it is likely to be healthy to eat too,” Gerber said. The university notes that the biologist is a “sushi lover” and that this appreciation for fish and curiosity in which choices were best to eat inspired her research. Salmon and other healthy, omega-3 packed fish, were not included in the study.
Gerber said she understands the difficulty consumers face when looking for healthy seafood options.
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“That my socially- and health-conscious friends did not know Bluefin was taboo made me think about how complicated it has become to decide what seafood to eat,” she said.
Her team’s complete findings were published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.
While cuts of tuna and sturgeon may not be the best, Gerber said Alaskan Pollock and Atlantic Mackerel, to name a few, are better options.
The study notes that there are many services and rankings systems floating around offering advice when eating seafood, but Gerber’s team also compiled a data on the health and ecological metrics of seafood.
“(It’s) great news for sushi-lovers. Choose the sustainable options and you also are boosting omega-3 intake, without risking mercury poisoning,” she said.
The database flags the healthy options through user-friendly choices – green light, red light, and grey light, which means the seafood is sustainable but high in mercury.
Health Canada also provides Canadians with information when approaching seafood. Read Health Canada’s seafood consumption advice here.
Green choices: Low mercury, high sustainability
Pacific herring (B.C.)
Red king crab (Bristol Bay)
Pacific cod (Alaska/B.C.)
Tanner crab (US Bering Sea)
Atlantic pollock (Northeast Arctic/New England)
Alaskan pollock (Eastern Bering Sea)
Atlantic mackerel (Northeast Atlantic)
American plaice (New England)
Canary rockfish (US Pacific coast)
Black rockfish (US Pacific coast)
Yellowfin sole (Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands)
European anchovy (South Africa)
Rock sole (Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands)
Pacific Ocean Perch (Alaska/US Pacific Coast)
Ocean perch (Newfoundland)
Alaska plaice (Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands)
Flathead sole (Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands)
Skipjack tuna (Central Western Pacific)
Arrowtooth flounder (Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands)
English sole (US Pacific coast)
Red choices: High mercury, low sustainability
Bluefin tuna (Eastern Atlantic)
Yellowtail flounder (Georges Bank)
Swordfish (Mediterranean)
Spanish mackerel (US South Atlantic)
Gag grouper (US Gulf of Mexico)
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