Each year, Food and Water Watch compiles a “Dirty Dozen” list of fish to avoid. Fish are added to this list for a variety of reasons which include:
- Fish on the list contain mercury or polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which may pose serious health risks
- The fish are typically imported from nations with poor health, environmental or safety standards
- Wild stocks of the species are poorly managed, or are caught using methods that can damage the local habitat or other wildlife, or species where natural stocks are becoming depleted
- Species where fewer than 2 percent of imported volume to the United States are tested for contaminants
While the list can vary from year to year, these species of fish regularly come up as contenders on the “Dirty Dozen” list, and should be avoided:
Atlantic Cod
Love your fish and chips? Unfortunately, this dish, which is almost always made with cod, is contributing to serious depletion of a species of marine life that is absolutely vital to the economic health of New England fishermen. This species has been so overfished that it is now just one step away from being listed as an endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List of Threatened Species. The silver lining, though, is that Pacific cod is still plentiful, and regularly is chosen by Food and Water Watch as a “best fish” choice.
Atlantic Salmon
Wild Atlantic salmon are actually illegal to fish now because stocks have become so depleted, due, in part, to farmed salmon, which cause significant pollution and environmental damage. Farmed salmon are crammed thousands deep into pens and doused with antibiotics and pesticides. If you buy “Atlantic salmon” at the food store, you can be sure that your fish has been farm-raised in these unhealthy and potentially dangerous conditions. If you’re going to buy salmon, invest instead in wild-caught Alaskan salmon.
American Eel
Love sushi? Next time you’re checking out the menu be sure to pass up this selection. Also called yellow eel or silver eel, American eel regularly makes the dirty dozen list because it contains high levels of PCBs and mercury.
Catfish
Nearly 90 percent of all catfish sold in the United States has been imported from Vietnam, which allows the use of antibiotics to treat their fish stock that have been banned in the United States. If that isn’t enough of a turn off for this type of fish, the two main varieties of Vietnamese catfish imported into the country aren’t technically considered catfish by government standards, and thus aren’t held to the same inspection standards as true catfish are. If you’re going to buy catfish, look for domestic, farm-raised catfish. This type of catfish has been raised responsibly, and is actually one of the most eco-friendly fish you can eat. You can also opt to try Asian carp, which is an invasive species that’s similar in taste and texture that is actually out-competing wild catfish and endangering the Great Lakes ecosystem, according to Rodale News.
Caviar
While not technically a fish, caviar (fish eggs) that come from beluga or wild sturgeon are adding to the overfishing of these populations of fish that have long maturity times, which are particularly sensitive to commercial fishing. These take a long time to rebound, according to the Food and Water Watch report, which adds that these species are being further threatened by increases in dam construction which pollutes their native waters. It’s important to note that a large part of the cost of caviar is due to the fact that all caviar comes from species of fish with long maturity rates. If you must have caviar, opt for the eco-responsible fish eggs that come from American Lake Sturgeon or American Shovelnose Sturgeon.
Imported Shrimp
Next time you’re dipping into your shrimp cocktail or dunking your fried shrimp, ask yourself if you want that dish with a side of rat hair. No? Imported shrimp regularly comes in as the dirtiest seafood in the dirty dozen, because of the number of contaminants found in these crustaceans, which include chemical residues, mouse or rat hair, insect bits, and banned antibiotics. When you’re buying shrimp, opt for Gulf Coast shrimp or pink shrimp from Oregon instead, They undergo much more rigorous inspections, as opposed to imported shrimp - which face testing on less than two percent of imported stock.
Atlantic Flatfish
Rather than being one species, this group of fish includes species like flounder and sole, which are caught in the Atlantic Ocean. Not only are these bottom-feeding fish heavily contaminated, but overfishing has brought these species down to as little as one percent of the population required for sustainable long-term fishing. While Pacific halibut is faring better than its Atlantic counterpart, experts suggest replacing these fish with other mild fish, such as tilapia.
Imported “King Crab”
Much of our nation’s imported king crab (up to 70 percent) comes from Russia, which doesn’t have the same stringent harvest limits as domestic king crab fishermen face. Furthermore, imported king crab is often mislabeled as Alaskan king crab, because of a mistaken assumption that this is the name of the species. Alaskan king crab is responsibly harvested under strict guidelines - so it’s important to ask where your crab is coming from, whether you’re shopping at the grocery store or dining out, and demand domestic instead.