Bad fish good fish - Vital signs: news and trends for your well-being - seafood safety - Brief Article

Fish is a great source of low-calorie protein and heart-healthy, fats, but overfishing and environmental factors have led to dangerous depletions in certain marine populations. "The catch on dozens of U.S. species has declined by 50 percent or more in the last decade," says marine biologist Carole C. Baldwin.

Responsible cooks will appreciate the release this month of One Fish, Two Fish, Crawfish, Bluefish: The Smithsonian Sustainable Seafood Cookbook. Co-written by Baldwin and Julie H. Mounts, it presents an array of seafood that's fished or farmed in an ecologically sound manner, including old favorites like scallops, halibut, and tuna, along with less familiar but equally delectable options such as tilapia, Arctic char and amberjack.

These choices are healthy for the world, but are they healthy for you? The Food and Drug Administration suggests that women who are pregnant or who may become pregnant minimize their consumption of seafood that's high in mercury (see chart, above right). For more information, call 888-SAFE-FOOD or access cfsan.fda.gov.

The safest sea fare for everyone, according to Purdue University, is salmon, shrimp, farm-raised channel catfish and rainbow trout, flounder, perch, tilapia, clams, scallops and red swamp crayfish. However, a recent analysis by the Environmental Working Group found that some farmed salmon is high in chemicals called PCBs, so wild salmon may be the preferred option. Baldwin recommends wild Alaska salmon, a pricier but well-managed seasonal fish that, unlike farmed salmon, isn't fed synthetic carotenoids for color. Also, follow the shopping and handling tips below to reduce seafood risk.

high mercury     OK once         OK once
content: avoid   a month         a week

swordfish        tuna steaks     crab
shark            red snapper     cod
king mackerel    orange roughy   mahi-mahi
tilefish         halibut         canned tuna

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