Albacore Tuna (Caught by pole or troll from British Columbia or the USA)
High mercury is found in many kinds of tuna. However, albacore tuna – typically canned – receives a Super Green rating if it is pole-caught or troll in the US or British Columbia. It’s very important that the tuna is troll or pole-caught to achieve this condition because younger and smaller fish, typically less than 20 pounds, are usually caught this way rather than how larger fish are caught on longlines. The kinds of fish are lower in mercury and have a lower contaminant rating. Also, these kinds of fish caught in northern waters that are colder tend to have a higher omega-3 count. Here’s the challenge: You must do your homework to determine how the fish you are eating is caught. Otherwise, look for the Marine Stewardship Council or MSV blue eco-label.
Wild-Caught Alaskan Salmon
The Alaskan salmon fishery is very well managed. For example, biologists go to the mouths of rivers to count the number of wild fish that return to spawn. If the numbers are becoming smaller, a fishery is closed before limits are reached. Alaska recently did this with a few Chinook fisheries. When you combine close monitoring with careful water quality management and strict quotas, Alaska’s wild-caught salmon are healthier and more sustainable than any other salmon. This fish contains 1,210 mg of the nutrient Omega-3 per every three-ounce serving with few contaminants. As a side point you may be interested in seeing maldon smoked salmon.
Farmed Oysters
Every three-ounce serving of farmed oysters contains 300 mg of omega-3s. It also has approximately a third of the daily recommended value of iron. Therefore, farmed oysters are good for you. Farmed oysters are also good for the environment. They improve the water quality by feeding off the algae and natural nutrients in the water. Farmed oysters are also natural reefs. They attract food and provide it for other fish. Keep in mind that raw shellfish, particularly those from warm waters, can include bacteria that lead to illnesses.
Wild-Caught Pacific Sardines
One food that has been seen more and more on the list of superfoods is the tiny but inexpensive sardine. Sardines contain more omega-3s (as much as 1,950 mg) per three-ounce serving. This is more than tuna, salmon, or any other food. Sardines are also one of the few foods naturally high in vitamin D. In the herring family, many fish are called sardines. Pacific sardines are quick to reproduce. Therefore, they have bounced back from overfishing and a natural collapse in the 1940s.
Farmed Rainbow Trout
Of the fish that is high in contaminants, lake trout tops the list. However, market trout is known as “farmed rainbow trout.” In America, you’ll see rainbow trout farmed mainly in freshwater “raceways” and ponds where protection from contaminants exists and where the trout are fed a diet created to conserve resources.
US Freshwater Coho Salmon Farmed in Tank Systems
The freshwater coho variety is the first and only farmed salmon to receive a Super Green rating. As far as other farmed salmon, it is on the Seaford Watch avoid list of the Monterey Bay Aquarium. It’s on the “avoid” list for several reasons. For one, crowded, cramped pens are used to house salmon. They have contaminated substances such as parasites; the salmon are often given antibiotics, and the salmon can spread disease to wild fish. (Salmon farms are banned in Alaska as a result.) In addition, it can take approximately three pounds of wild fish to raise just one pound of salmon. The coho variety is raised in closed freshwater pens, requiring less feed. Therefore, the environmental impact is lessened. Coho is also a healthy way to get Omega-3s. For example, one service provides 1,025 mg.