High-Mercury Seafood You Should Avoid

There are certain types of seafood you should n’t eat . Whether it ’s for health reasons , environmental ones , or you have n’t been able to eat it since you spring up attached to the supporting mould ofThe Little Mermaid , perhaps it ’s best to leave behind certain ocean creature alone . To find out which , we talk with Sonya Lunder , a aged analyst at theEnvironmental Working Group , a non - profit organization " dedicated to protecting human wellness and the environment , " to help you make better choices at the fish counter and seafood restaurants .

Why this seafood is bad for you

TheMonterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watchlooks at which Pisces the Fishes are " angle or farm in ways that have less impingement on the surroundings . " Basically , it ’s not cool to rust menace species on land , so maybe do n’t eat the panda bear of the sea , either .

Then , the good folk at the EWG take the Monterey Bay data and overlay on top of it whether or not it ’s good for you to ware the selected Pisces , based on their Hg content . Mercury , according to the EWG / skill , negatively effects your heart , uneasy system , and general well - being .

Keep in mind that how much you may safely consume varies extremely on whether you ’re a gentleman or womanhood , your exercising weight , and if you have marrow disease , so check the mathematical group ’s handySeafood Calculatorto chance out what ’s right-hand for you . We ’re going to give you universal guidepost , because not all of us are pull 25 - yr - old with 5 % consistency fat . Just those of us who work at Thrillist .

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Swordfish

Not only should you avoid the Halle Berry / John Travolta 2001 movieSwordfish(it only has a 26 % from Rotten Tomatoes ! ) , you should also kibosh eating the fish of the same name . While the Monterey Bay folks say itcould be sustainable depending on where you source if from , the EWG says it ’s not worth eating , as one serving take a leak up 211 % of the max amount of mercury you should consume per week .

Sea bass

You do n’t have to ward off all kinds of sea bass voice , like to how you do n’t have to avoid all tuna . Black and striped ocean bass are secure to use up once a week , as long as you eat no other seafood . But the Chilean sea bass – which was rebranded after its original name of Patagonian toothfish did n’t exactly make it to fly off fish counters everywhere – is one to avoid . It does have a temperate amount of omega-3s , but it also has 86 % of a safe amount of mercury to consume in a week .

Tuna

fortunately , not all kinds of tunny are packed with mercury and overfished . tinned albacore tunny is high in omega-3s and is safe to feed once a week if you have no other seafood , consort to the EWG . But only a 4 oz serving size contains 81 % of the amount of mercury that ’s secure to waste in a calendar week , so eat up it on a limited basis . As for the form of tuna to uncoiled - up avoid whole , they are many , including bluefin and bigeye .

Walleye

The Twin Cities love their walleye ( and their Prince ) , but the EWG says it ’s best to avoid it , though it have n’t weighed in on Prince yet . The good tidings is thatthere are sustainable sourcesof the fish , but the bad news is that one 4 oz serving supplies you with 119 % of your week ’s mercury apportioning , and it ’s not a in particular upright source of omega-3 .

Tilefish

Atlantic blanquillo is a fairly good source of omega-3s , and the EWG says you’re able to corrode it twice a week if you have no other seafood . But tilefish from the gulf is potentially harmful . A 4 oz attend provides you with a whopping 345 % of your max hebdomadary atomic number 80 apportionment , along with a lot of omega-3s . The tradeoff is likely not worth it .

Marlin

Whether it ’s the blue , stripy , or just plain ole marlin variety , you should forfend ware it . You should also deflect the Florida Marlins , as they ’re horrible to take in . While it leave a temperate amount of omega-3s , it ’s extremely high in quicksilver too , particularly blue marlin , with 604 % higher than the maximal amount of mercury you should ware in a workweek .

King mackerel

upright tidings : it ’s got a nerveless name for a fish , a decorous amount of omega-3 fatty acid , and it ’s reap in a sustainable direction ! unsound intelligence : it ’s get 261 % of your weekly mercury assignation in one 4 oz serving . A brilliant man once say that " the king stay the king , " but only when it fare to mercury .

Orange roughy

This Pisces was formerly known as slimehead , which is only a good name if you run a business that supply light-green goo to Nickelodeon’sYou Ca n’t Do That on Television . But even though it ’s catch a new , marginally fancier - sound name , no matter what you call it , orange roughy ’s packing not a whole heap of omega-3 , no sustainable way of catching it , and just a 40z serving comprise 135 % of the maximum amount of mercury you should waste in a week .

Shark

The only ocean creature worth name an full week of TV programming after , the shark also has the distinction of packing in 209 % of your weekly mercury allotment . And it ’s fairly much impossible to encounter a sustainable source of it , likely because people can only kill sharks by launch aqualung tankful into their mouths and then shooting those tank with a gun .

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