FISH | BENEFITS | CONS | BEST CHOICE | AVOID |
Canned Tuna | - Modest to high in omega-3’s (150-300 mg/4 oz. in canned light, 1000 mg/4 oz. of albacore)
| - High in mercury* (avg. 40 mcg/4 oz. albacore and 13 mcg/4 oz. canned light)
| - Tuna caught by trolls, poles, or FAD-free** purse seines
- Smaller brands like Wild Planet and Raincoast Trading
| - Tuna caught with gill nets, puse seines with FADs, or most longline methods
- Includes brands like Chicken of the Sea, Bumblebee, and Star-Kist
|
Catfish | - Most sustainable fish available
- Modest in omega-3’s (100-250 mg/4 oz.)
- Low in mercury
- Fed a vegetarian diet
| - Catfish from China and Vietnam have been placed on the FDA watchlist for illegal residues of malachite green and flouroquinolones
| - BEST: Catfish farmed in the US
- Good alternative: imported farmed catfish
| - Catfish from China and Vietnam
|
Farmed Salmon | - Very high in omega-3’s (2400mg/4 oz.)
- Very low in mercury
| - 2004 chemical analysis from five countries found high amounts of PCBs and dioxins that swayed researchers to recommend consumption no more than once a month
| - Farmed salmon raised in “recirculating aquaculture systems” or “tank systems”
- Verlasso farmed salmon from Chile
| - Most farmed salmon from Chile, British Columbia, Scotland, and Norway
|
Shrimp | - Modest in omega-3’s (100 mg/4 oz.)
- Very low in mercury
| - A recent sample test in Louisiana shrimp found that 20 of 27 samples had traces of banned antiobiotics and antifungals
| - US farmed shrimp
- Wild shrimp caught anywhere other than Mexico or Louisiana
| - Most imported farmed shrimp
- Wild shrimp from Mexico or Louisiana
|
Tilapia | - Modest in omega-3’s (150 mg/4oz.)
- Very low in mercury
- Fed a vegetarian diet
| - Study in 2008 found a large amount of arachidonic acid in farmed tilapia
- Tilapia from China and Taiwan are on the FDA watch list for illegal drug residues
| - Tank-farmed tilapia from the US or Canada
- Tank-farmed in carefully managed ponds in Ecuador
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Trout | - High in omega-3’s (1000mg/4 oz.)
- Low in mercury
| - Fed fishmeal and fish oil that absorb high amounts of PCBs and dioxins
| - BEST: Rainbow trout farmed in the US, Wild lake trout from Lake Superior (Canadian and American waters)
- Good alternative: wild lake trout from Lake Huron and Michigan
| - Wild lake trout from Wisconsin waters of Lake superior
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Wild Salmon | - High in omega-3’s (1500 mg/4 oz. wild coho, 900 mg in wild sockeye)
| - Trace amounts of PCBs and dioxins
| - BEST: Any wild salmon from Alaska
- Good alternative: wild salmon from California, Oregon, or Washington. Wild coho from British Columbia. Any wild salmon from a Marine Stewardship Council Certified Fishery
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