Food & Drink: No fear -- Tips on buying fish that can keep you healthy -- without injuring Mother Earth's oceans Food & Drink: No fear -- Tips on buying fish that can keep you healthy -- without injuring Mother Earth's oceans (February 04, 2004)

By Renee Batti
Almanac News Editor

Buying and eating fish these days can be an exercise in fear and anxiety: On the one hand, nutritionists say we should consume far more fish for our health; on the other, biologists and environmentalists say we're destroying the oceans by over-fishing.

On one hand, the American Heart Association and other health organizations sing the praises of the omega-3 fatty acids abundant in fish, especially salmon; on the other, recent research is finding a dangerous overabundance of mercury in some fish, and an alarming degree of PCBs and other toxins in farmed salmon.

Are all these contradictions making the thought of fresh fish on your table unappetizing? They shouldn't, say a number of experts who are trying to educate the public about responsible choices in buying seafood.

One such expert spoke at a recent dinner at Flea St. Cafe in Menlo Park, attended by local members of Slow Food, an organization committed to ecologically sound food production and the pleasures of the table.

"Your choices do make a difference," said George Leonard, science manager for the Seafood Watch project of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. His organization is trying to make it easier for shoppers to choose responsibly.

Seafood Watch produces a chart breaking fish into three categories, color-coded green, yellow and red (think traffic lights). Although criteria for which fish is placed on which list are related to environmental and sustainability issues only -- leaving aside health issues -- it's a good start for people confused about which seafood they should buy.

Some fish are listed in several categories, depending on whether they are farmed or wild-caught, or if they are caught using methods that damage the ocean environment and wildlife.

For example, shrimp or prawns that are trap-caught are on the green, or "best choices," list; shrimp that are farmed in the United States or trawl-caught are on the yellow, or "caution," list; and imported shrimp are on the red, or "avoid," list.

Mr. Leonard defined "sustainable" fish farming or fish harvesting as operations that use methods "that can exist in the long term without jeopardizing the health of other fish populations or surrounding ecosystem." Unfortunately, he said, those methods are often not used.

In United States waters, one-third of known fish stocks are over-fished, meaning their populations "are in freefall," he said.

Some methods of harvesting fish -- such as trawling -- create additional problems, including the killing of other wildlife, known as "bycatch." About one-quarter of all ocean catch is discarded, Mr. Leonard said. "It's hugely wasteful."

Fish farms have proven to be a mixed blessing. As the demand for more seafood grows worldwide, farming has also increased, and now about 20 percent of seafood is farmed, according to the Seafood Watch Web site. "The ecological impact of fish farming depends on which species are raised, how they are raised, and where the farm is located."

The site gives as an example the adverse impact of farming salmon (farmed salmon is on the "red" list). "Salmon are raised in net pens in coastal waters where wastes such as salmon feces, uneaten fish food and disease can easily spread to coastal ecosystems. Other potential problems relate to the escape of non-native species into the wild, and in some areas the killing of sea lions and sea birds in order to keep them from eating the farmed fish."

Jesse Cool, who owns Flea St. as well as two other local restaurants, said she has been trying to educate customers for years about choosing seafood responsibly. When diners complain that there are no prawns on her menu, she patiently explains why she avoids buying them, she said.

An obstacle to making responsible choices is that seafood markets typically don't specify where their fish or shellfish come from, or how they are caught. "Ask," said Ms. Cool. "Any seafood store that can't answer those questions -- don't shop there," she said.

Mr. Leonard agreed that shoppers need to ask more questions, but warned that sometimes, if the person behind the counter doesn't know, he or she might fudge. Just asking the question can be valuable, however, he said.

"Try to engage in a dialogue," he said. "If they don't know the answers to your questions, ask them to ask their distributor." The process, he said, will further awareness and, if enough people indicate they want responsibly raised or caught fish, it could push markets to seek out better choices.

The Slow Food dinner menu included a range of sustainably harvested seafood, including smoked wild salmon wrapped around avocado; anchovies in a cauliflower pate on crostini; black cod, which was served on skewers with a Thai dipping sauce; Half Moon Bay calamari and halibut, with Dungeness crab served with the halibut.

Health issues

Health concerns have grown with the release of recent studies that indicate fish eaters are consuming more than healthful fish oils and protein.

Results of a study published in a recent issue of the journal Science reveal that farmed salmon contain 10 times the level of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins and two banned pesticides as is found in wild Pacific salmon.

Farmed Atlantic salmon is on Seafood Watch's "red" list, while the far less toxic wild-caught California or Alaska salmon are on the "green" list.

The study's lead author recommended that people not eat farmed salmon more than once or twice a month.

Other studies show dangerously high levels of methylmercury in swordfish, shark and other fish. A study by Dr. Jane Hightower of San Francisco revealed that nearly 90 percent of the 116 men and women sampled had blood mercury levels surpassing nationally established safe levels, some by more that 17-fold, according to a report by the Mercury Policy Project and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy.

The report said that those sampled were chosen based on their level of fish consumption, or symptoms "consistent with mercury poisoning, including depression, memory loss, confusion, tremors, metallic tastes, and hair loss."

The alarm about mercury poisoning has been sounded nationally, and medical experts and government health agencies warn pregnant women and women of child-bearing age not to eat swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tile fish. The Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also advises young children to avoid those fish.

Some health experts also suggest that adults limit consumption of those fish, as well as ahi and halibut, to once a month or less.

To learn more about seafood or to download the list of recommended and discouraged seafood choices, go to www.montereybayaquarium.org.

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