Eating fish can be very healthy or very dangerous. Many of those people you see always ordering fish, think they're eating smart, till the tests come back and show they have dangerously high mercury levels. The good news is you don't have to give up fish, you just have to stick to the right ones. Some are safe and some are dangerous. Here is the list put together by the NY State Department of Health:
VERY LOW IN MERCURY – EAT 5 TIMES A WEEK
• Anchovies• Clams• Crawfish/Crayfish • Hake• Herring• Oysters
• Pollock • Salmon* • Sardines • Shrimp• Tilapia• Whiting
LOW IN MERCURY- EAT 2TIMES A WEEK
• Butterfish• Catfish• Cod• Crab•Croaker (Atlantic) • Flounder
• Haddock • Jacksmelt •Mackerel
(North Atlantic)
HIGH IN MERCURY • EAT NO MORE THAN ONCE A WEEK
Bass (Black,
• Mullet• Mussels • Perch
"(Ocean or White) •Scallops . Halibut• Lobster• Monkfish• Sablefish*
Limit to 4 ounces – Canned Tuna
TOO HIGH IN MERCURY – DON’T EAT
•Chilean Sea Bass
•Grouper
•Mackerel (King or Spanish)
•Marlin•Orange Roughy
•Tuna(Fresh, Steaks, Sushi)
• Shark• Swordfish• Tilefish
DON’T EAT FISH CAUGHT IN NEW YORK CITY WATERS – MAY CONTAIN CONTAMINANTS
(photo by Mark Simone)