By and large these are issues that Americans are oblivious to, with the overall thinking being that "fish is health food, brain food and the like..."
- If you take omega-3 supplements the original source of the fish oil is most probably from Peruvian anchovies. A better bet is to eat 4 anchovy filets a day.
- The remainder of that anchovy becomes dried fish meal which makes up the feed for farmed fish, especially American's favorite: salmon.
- America is the second largest consumer of seafood in the world.
- 90% of fish in America comes from abroad.
- Fish in an American restaurant travels an average of 5,000 miles before it arrives on your plate.
- Almost half the seafood we eat is now farmed.
- Fish farms from Asia and India are now flooding the American market with fish, such as shrimp and catfish. Due to differing regulations it is "hard to know what's what."
- Shrimp is the most widely consumed seafood in America.
- I was surprised to hear that it was sea lice from farmed fish that actually escaped out into the wild salmon population and diminished it. (In my book when I discussed the AquaBounty salmon, the fear was that genetically engineered salmon would escape the farms and mate with wild salmon. Perhaps that just hasn't happened yet.)
- The cutting edge of the aquaculture industry is in trying to strike a compromise between the environment and the bottom line.
- The Chinese already have genetically engineered fish. (Of course, so do we.)
- Shellfish, such as mussels, clams and oysters, clean up the ocean by soaking up carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus.
- Kelp is the new kale.
- There are over 10,000 edible plants in the ocean.
- The future of our food is in the ocean; an interesting concept since land-based food is high in omega-6's and our omega-6's and omega-3's are out of balance.
- There are new studies which indicate that the connection between heart health and omega-3's have been called into question. (This doesn't mean that omega-3's aren't really healthy for you!)
- The Alaskan wild salmon industry is worth $200 million, and it is based on sustainable methods for both the salmon and the environment.
- Mussels are a seafood source high in omega-3 fatty acids.
- If you eat salmon, only buy Alaskan wild caught salmon.
- Arctic Char is a good choice of fish because it is grown in tanks outside the ocean. It is also high in omega-3's.
- Tuna is no longer a good fish choice. It has the highest source of mercury in the American diet and should be avoided. Mercury increases the risk of a cardiac event and is also detrimental for brain health.