Rebel Dietitian Dana McDonald, RD If you choose to consume fish and/or shellfish, opt for sustainable seafood products that are low in mercury and other toxic contaminants; yet, high in the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA. According to Seafood Watch, more than 90 percent of the world’s fisheries are now fully exploited or collapsed.
Seafood Dirty Dozen
Below is the Food and Water Watch’s Seafood Dirty Dozen — a list of seafood products to avoid due to mercury content and/or sustainability issues.
Dirty Dozen
- Atlantic cod
- Atlantic flatfish (Atlantic halibut, flounder and sole)
- Caviar (especially from beluga and other wild-caught sturgeon)
- Chilean seabass
- Eel
- Farmed salmon (often called “Atlantic salmon”)
- Imported basa/swai/tra (often labeled “catfish”)
- Imported farmed shrimp
- Imported king crab
- Orange roughy
- Shark
- Atlantic Bluefin tuna
Mercury in Seafood
Use the list below to identify which seafood products are lowest and highest in mercury.
Lower Mercury
- Anchovies
- Butterfish
- Catfish
- Clam
- Crab (Domestic)
- Crawfish/Crayfish
- Croaker (Atlantic)
- Flounder*
- Haddock (Atlantic)*
- Hake
- Herring
- Mackerel (N. Atlantic, Chub)
- Mullet
- Oyster
- Perch (Ocean)
- Plaice
- Pollock
- Salmon (Canned)**
- Salmon (Fresh)**
- Sardine
- Scallop*
- Shad (American)
- Shrimp*
- Sole (Pacific)
- Squid (Calamari)
- Tilapia
- Trout (Freshwater)
- Whitefish
- Whiting
Moderate Mercury
Eat six servings or less per month:
- Bass (Striped, Black)
- Carp
- Cod (Alaskan)*
- Croaker (White Pacific)
- Halibut (Atlantic)*
- Halibut (Pacific)
- Jacksmelt (Silverside)
- Lobster
- Mahi Mahi
- Monkfish*
- Perch (Freshwater)
- Sablefish
- Skate*
- Snapper*
- Tuna (Canned chunk light)
- Tuna (Skipjack)* Weakfish (Sea Trout)
High Mercury (Avoid)
- Bluefish
- Grouper*
- Mackerel (Spanish, Gulf)
- Sea Bass (Chilean)*
- Tuna (Canned Albacore)
- Tuna (Yellowfin)*
Highest Mercury (Avoid)
Completely avoid eating:
- Mackerel (King)
- Marlin*
- Orange Roughy*
- Shark*
- Swordfish*
- Tilefish*
- Tuna (Bigeye, Ahi)*
*Fish in trouble. These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods.
**Farmed salmon may contain PCB’s (chemicals with serious long-term health effects).
Mercury Categories
About the mercury-level categories: The categories on the list (least mercury to highest mercury) are determined according to the following mercury levels in the flesh of tested fish.
- Least mercury: Less than 0.09 parts per million
- Moderate mercury: From 0.09 to 0.29 parts per million
- High mercury: From 0.3 to 0.49 parts per million
- Highest mercury: More than .5 parts per million
Omega 3 Fatty Acids (EPA and DHA)
Whenever possible, choose products that are highest in omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA. Below are posters obtained via the the Environmental Working Group (EWG).
Learn More
Rebel Lifestyle
To learn more about my lifestyle, visit the page titled Rebel Lifestyle.
Rebel Grub
To view photos of my grub, visit the page titled Rebel Grub.
Meal Planning
To view meal planning information, head over to the page Meal Planning.
Shopping Lists
To view shopping lists, visit the page titled Shopping Lists.
Posters and Charts
To view my posters and charts, visit the page titled Posters.
Pinterest and Facebook
Posters and Charts
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 license. This means you are free to use my work for personal use (e.g., save the file to your computer or share via social media) as long as you do not modify the image or use the image for commercial purposes ($). Big hugs! Dana
