The Reel Deal
I RECOMMEND EATING FISH ONLY 2 OR 3 TIMES PER WEEK OR LESS.
Easier ways to choose healthy, eco-friendly seafood.
There may be plenty of fish in the sea, but finding one for dinner can make your head swim. Feel like salmon? U.S. tank-farmed freshwater coho salmon is environmentally sound, while Atlantic farmed varieties usually aren't. Wild caught Alaskan varieties get great marks, but you can't trust that salmon simply marked "wild"truly is. Here's how to navigate.
1. download a Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch pocket guide for best picks, fish to avoid, and good alternatives. Go to mobile seafoodwatch.org for apps.
2. Text the word Fish and a species name to 30644; the Blue Ocean Institute will send a sustainability rating and better options.
3. Look for the Marine Stewardship Council label on wild-caught fish in stores and restaurants-it's the most rigorous certification there is.
AVOID THESE
Chilean sea bass, overfished
Orange Roughy, overfished
Bluefin Tuna, overfished and high mercury levels
Most farmed, imported shrimp, overfished
Most open-net farmed salmon, overfished
King Crab, overfished
CHOOSE THESE.
Tilapia, central American farmed, sustainably farmed or caught and low in mercury and other contaminants
Catfish, U.S. farmed, sustainably farmed or caught and low in mercury and toher contaminants
Rainbow Trout, U.S. farmed, sustainably farmed or caught and low in mercury and other contaminants
Crab: Dungeness, stone, or Kona, sustainably farmed or caught, and low in mercury and other contaminants.
Mussels,sustainably farmed or caught, and low in mercury and other contaminants.
Bay scallops, China farmed, sustainably farmed or caught, and low in mercury and other contaminants.
Fish caught with hook and line, traps, pots, or harpoon,sustainably farmed or caught