Sustainable Seafood: A List

WebMD has a list of the seafood that's best for the environment and you. Seemed suitable considering yesterday's post.

Catfish (U.S.)
Arctic char
Halibut (Pacific)
Wild Alaskan salmon
Soft-shell clams, mussels, oysters, shrimp, and bay scallops (farmed)
Tilapia (U.S.)
Albacore (U.S. or Canadian) and yellowfin tuna (U.S. Atlantic troll/pole caught)
Striped bass (farmed)
Rainbow trout (farmed)
Mackerel (Atlantic)
Mahimahi (U.S. troll/pole caught)
Dungeness or stone crab

I'm sort of surprised by the farmed suggestions. Guess this list doesn't account for yum-factor. It was posted in 2008 but they say farmed fish can have lower mercury levels and their farmed suggestion seems to depend on the fish. Fish like salmon though are already known for having lower mercury levels. And you'd have to eat a whole heck of a lot of it for the mercury to build up in your system enough to be a problem. Predatory fish like sharks and swordfish are known to have higher mercury levels so they should only be eaten every once in awhile. If you do go the farmed route, Whole Foods just introduced a Responsibly Farmed logo for their farmed seafood products indicating it stands up to their rigorous standards as well as being 3rd party verified.

A name on the list above you may not be too familiar with is arctic char. I met arctic char for the first time two months ago and it was good. It has a similar taste to salmon - probably because they're related. The taste is actually more mild, almost starting down the road of "tastes like chicken". So if you thought salmon had too strong a taste, arctic char may be a better fish for you.