Safe Seafood

One Fish, Two Fish, Blue Fish, Green Fish?

Omega-3's are good for you -- but not when they come with a side order of mercury and habitat destruction.

Co-op America's Safe Seafood Tip Sheet is the only source we know of that looks at both the health and environmental issues surrounding your fish choices. They compiled the best data on environmental sustainability from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, along with the Environmental Working Group's data on toxins, plus information from the FDA, EPA, and others, to create the most comprehensive safe seafood tipsheet around.

Overview of the Safe, Sustainable Seafood Guide
(T = High Toxin Levels, E = Environmental Issues)

Safe to Eat

Anchovies, Calamari, Clams, Crawfish, Dungeness crab, Fish sticks, Flounder (summer), Haddock, Hake, Herring, King crab, Lobster (spiny/rock), Mid-Atlantic blue crab, Northern shirmp (US-farmed), Oysters, Alaskan salmon (wild), Perch, White shrimp (US-farmed), Sardines, Bay scallops (farmed), Sole, Spot prawn, Stone crab, Tilapia, Whitefish

Caution (Limit to One Serving Per Month)

Blue mussel (T), Bluefish (T)*, Bonito (T)*, Channel (wild) catfish (T), Cod (except Atlantic) (T), Eastern oyster (T), Gulf Coast blue crab (T), Lake trout (T)*, Lake white fish (T), Mahi-mahi (T), Pollock (T), Porgy (T)*, Rockfish (T)*

Avoid

Catfish (farmed) (T), Caviar (wild) (E), Chilean sea bass/toothfish (E), Cod (Atlantic) (T, E), Grouper (E), Gulf Coast Oysters (T), Halibut (T, E), King mackerel (T), Largemouth bass (T), Marlin (T), Monkfish (E), Orange Roughy (T, E), Pike (T), Pacific rockfish/rock cod (E), Salmon (Great Lakes) (T), Salmon (Atlantic and most farmed) (T, E), Sea bass (T), Shark (T, E), Shrimp (wild, imported) (E), Snapper (T*, E), Sturgeon (wild) (E), Swordfish (T), Tilefish (T), Tuna (canned) (T), Tuna steaks (T, E), Walleye (T), White croaker (T)

*Information on Bonito, Lake Trout, Porgy, Rockfish, and Snapper is based on data from 1977. No recent data available.

Data from: FDA, EPA, Environmental Working Group, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Blue Oceans Institute, Environmental Defense.