May 28, 2009

10 Tasty Fish You Don't Want to Eat

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch offers a list of fish you can enjoy and those you can't. Many on the list you may or may not enjoy depending on where and how they're caught. However, there are some you just don't want to touch. Check out 10 of these tasty fish that you want to let swim in peace.

The Freshwater Eel
It is better known as Unagi among the sushi lovers, where you can see it draped over the top of a tasty roll covered in a sweet sauce. However, while tempting, you'll want to skip ordering a roll that features Freshwater Eel. Young eel are caught in the wild and raised on farms, and significantly decreasing the number of young animals in a wild population has sent the species into decline. Not only that, but the method of farming eels pollutes the surrounding areas. This is one sushi option you always want to avoid, but there are sustainable options. (crap, unagi rolls are my very favourite...!)

Salmon
It is known to have some great health benefits and is a wonderful option but only if you're ordering wild Alaskan. You never want to indulge in farmed Salmon. No matter what your restaurant server says about the farming practices, if they don't simply say "It's wild Alaskan," don't order it. Farming salmon, as with farming eel, causes pollution in the surrounding environments due to waste and parasites leaking out into the waters next to the farms. Plus, the feeding methods are less than desirable, using fish stocks that put pressure on wild populations or corn, which leads to a paler meat that is then died the pink color consumers recognize. Until more sustainable farming practices are developed, farmed Salmon is on the No list.

Continue with the list...

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