Finding Safe Seafood Choices

The Environmental Working Group released information in June relating to new guidelines for seafood consumption. The full report is here. I really like the chart they included, though, which is below. It’s an easy way to visually check for healthier seafood options. NOAA also produces information on selecting good seafood options, including information on the species, its habitat, other animals often caught as a result of fishing practices, etc.

In general, the lower on the foodchain the animal is (the less it eats other animals), the safer it is. Mercury and other chemicals can accumulate in predators so that the same quantity of shark is much more harmful than a similar quantity of sardines, for example.

Consuming seafood is correlated with having smarter children, but that’s only true if the seafood consumed is low in mercury and other harmful chemicals. Seafood has many beneficial aspects, but, when possible, try to choose options that are both good for you (low in harmful chemicals) and also promote sustainable fishing.