Safe Seafoods to Eat on the West Coast
September 14, 2008
Seafood Watch from the Monterey Bay Aquarium
Still looking to answer the question about what are safe seafoods to eat, the pocket guide from the Monterey Bay Aquarium will help you figure out the right seafood options for your region. Carry one with you to help you choose ocean-friendly seafood wherever you live or travel.
Choose the guide for your region. The different guides include the National Guide, West Coast Guide, Southwest Guide, Hawaii Guide, Central U.S. Guide, Southeast Guide and Northeast Guide.
Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program has been recognized for its influential role in transforming seafood buying habits across the United States.
The information below comes from the West Coast Guide. For concerns about Mercury levels in fish, look for those fish with * next to the name.
| Best Choices | Good Alternatives |
| Abalone (farmed) Barramundi (US farmed) Catfish (US farmed) Clams, Mussels, Oysters (farmed) Cod: Pacific (Alaska longline)+ Crab: Dungeness Halibut: Pacific+ Lobster: Spiny (US) Pollock (Alaska wild)+ Rockfish: Black (CA, OR) Sablefish/Black Cod (Alaska+, BC) Salmon (Alaska wild)+ Sardines Scallops: Bay (farmed) Shrimp: Pink (OR)+ Striped Bass (farmed) Sturgeon, Caviar (farmed) Tilapia (US farmed) Trout: Rainbow (farmed) Tuna: Albacore (US+, BC troll/pole) Tuna: Skipjack (troll/pole) White Seabass |
Basa, Swai (farmed) Clams, Oysters* (wild) Cod: Pacific (trawled) Crab: King (US), Snow, Imitation Dogfish (BC)* Flounders, Soles (Pacific) Lingcod* Lobster: American/Maine Mahi mahi/Dolphinfish (US) Rockfish (Alaska, BC hook & line) Sablefish/Black Cod (CA, OR, WA) Salmon (WA wild)* Sanddabs: Pacific Scallops: Sea Shrimp (US farmed or wild) Spot Prawn (US) Squid Sturgeon (OR, WA wild)* Swordfish (US longline)* Tuna: Bigeye, Yellowfin (troll/pole) Tuna: canned light, canned white/Albacore* |
Best Choices are abundant, well-managed and caught or farmed in environmentally friendly ways.
Good Alternatives are an option, but there are concerns with how they’re caught or farmed—or with the health of their habitat due to other human impacts.
| Avoid |
| Chilean Seabass/Toothfish* Cod: Atlantic Crab: King (imported) Dogfish (US)* Grenadier/Pacific Roughy Lobster: Spiny (Caribbean imported) Mahi mahi/Dolphinfish (imported) Marlin: Blue*, Striped* Monkfish Orange Roughy* Rockfish (trawled) Salmon (farmed, including Atlantic)* Sharks* Shrimp (imported farmed or wild) Sturgeon*, Caviar (importedwild) Swordfish(imported)* Tuna: Albacore, Bigeye, Yellowfin (longline)* Tuna: Bluefin* |
Avoid for now as these items are caught or farmed in ways that harm other marine life or the environment.
Key
BC = British Columbia CA = California OR = Oregon WA = Washington
* Limit consumption due to concerns about mercury or other contaminants. Visit www.edf.org/seafood
+ Some or all of this fishery is certified as sustainable to the Marine Stewardship Council standard. Visit www.msc.org
The Seafood Watch Information can also be downloaded to a cell phone. Use your phone to log on to mobile.seafoodwatch.org
Source of Information: Sea Watch, Monterey Bay Aquarium, West Coast Guide.
Entry Filed under: Articles, Health, Nutrition, Wellness. Tags: best choices in fish, mercury in fish, Monterey Bay Aquarium, safe seafood, seafood watch, sustainable fish.
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