The advice as to what we should be eating and what we shouldn?t be eating is getting increasingly complicated. One particular area of confusion is fish. Some fish is good for you, some fish is better for the environment, some fish has lots of mercury and some fish involves messing up the ecosystems. So where do we start?

The omega fatty acids found in the oily fish are especially good for you and may help many conditions including arthritic type conditions and neurological conditions such as dyslexia or autism. However, these can also be found in many other foods such as linseeds and sesame seeds.

Unfortunately the seas are becoming increasingly polluted with industrial pollution and other contaminants and these are absorbed into the fish. In addition many of the fish farming practices have negative environmental effects, such as killing of other sorts of fish, or smaller fish in the process.

Oceans Alive have put together their list of fish to be recommended, and fish to be avoided.

The ones that they most recommend are those that are both high in fatty acids and low in pollution, these are:

• Alaskan Sablefish
• Alaskan, Canned and Pink Salmon
• Anchovies
• Atlantic Herring
• Atlantic Mackerel
• Farmed Oysters
• Sardines
• Alaskan Halibut
• Bay Scallops
• Dungeness, Snow or Stone Crab
• Farmed Arctic Char
• Farmed Clams
• Farmed Mussels
• Farmed Striped Bass
• US Tilapia
• Spot Prams
• US Crawfish
• US Farmed Abalone
• US Farmed Catfish
• US Farmed Caviar
• US Farmed Sturgeon
• US Mahimahi
• North and US Farmed Shrimp

At the other end of the spectrum are those that are not recommended, the ones listed here are both high in mercury or PCBs and bad for the environment.

• Atlantic Farmed Salmon
• Bluefin Tuna
• Chilean Seabass/Toothfish
• Grouper
• Marlin
• Orange Roughey
• Rockfish/Rock Cod
• Shark
• Swordfish
• Tilefish
• Wild Sturgeon

On the not quite so bad list, but still to be avoided are:

• Atlantic Cod
• Atlantic Halibut
• Monkfish/Goosefish
• Prawns
• Shrimps
• Skate
• Snapper
• Wild Caviar

So keep eating the fish, if that is what you want, but just be careful which ones you eat.

Further Information