Which Seafood to Avoid and Sustainable Alternatives

Due to extremely efficient technology and billions of mouths to feed, the planet’s oceans are being over fished. As a result, they are becoming severely degraded with the destruction of inestimable biodiversity. One big factor in oceanic degradation is industrial fishing. As consumers we can easily help stop this destruction by making informed choices in the fish and seafood that we consume by choosing species that are caught or raised in a responsible way as well as avoiding those species that are endangered or caught in a way that harms marine ecosystems. Below is a list of seafood to avoid along with a list of currently sustainable species of fish and shellfish.

Note that these lists are by no means exhaustive and the fish or seafood that we should avoid changes from time to time depending on the health of the species population.

Seafood to Avoid:

• Albacore, Yellowfin and Bigeye Tuna that has been caught using longline fishing
• Atlantic Cod
• Atlantic Halibut
• Atlantic Sole Flounder
• Atlantic Salmon farmed or wild caught
• Bluefin Tuna
• Chilean Seabass orToothfish
• Grouper
• Monkfish
• Mid-Atlantic Sea Scallops
• Red Snapper
• Shark
• Spiny Lobster
• Wild Shrimp

Imported Seafood to Avoid (for US & Canada):

• King Crab
• Shrimp wild or farmed
• Mahi mahi
• Swordfish
• Caviar

Sustainable alternatives:

• Alaskan Wild Pollock
• Alaskan Wild Salmon
• Albacore Tuna from US or British Colombia when caught by troll fishing methods.
• Atlantic Herring(Sardines)
• Canadian Snow Crab
• Dungeness Crab
• Pacific Alaskan Cod from longline fisheries
• Pacific Halibut
• Skipjack Tuna caught by troll fishing method.
• Stone Crab
• Striped Bass, either wild or farmed

In addition, it is sustainable to consume the following species as long as they are farm raised:

• Bay Scallops
• Catfish US
• Clams
• Mussels
• Oysters
• Rainbow trout
• Sturgeon Caviar
• Tilapia-US

Environmental pollution and degradation reaches every corner of the earth, deep in the sea and high in the atmosphere. Mercury is a natural element but its increased dangerous presence in the environment is largely due to human activity. Despite the issue of over fishing, we still have to be careful about the amount and type of seafood we consume because of high levels of mercury present in some fish. This is especially critical for pregnant and nursing women as well as young children.

Some commonly consumed fish that contain high levels of mercury include:

• King Mackerel
• Shark
• Swordfish

The following fish contain safer levels of mercury:

• Alaskan wild Pollock
• Alaskan wild salmon
• Canned light tuna (Albacore tuna has a higher level of mercury than canned light tuna)

• Farm raised catfish
• Farm raised US shrimp

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