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is exceptionally clean and free of parasites). Sushi bars don’t advertise this fact because we Americans are pretty hung up on the idea that fresh fish is always superior. My thought is, unless you want to be sick, you’ll reconsider this bias. Once you find out your fish has been in the deep freeze, eat it raw to your heart’s content, keeping in mind that you still need to keep it cold and safe from cross-contamination, since you are not cooking it. Deliciousness awaits. Much to my brother’s chagrin, he no longer gets the lion’s share of the sushi.

appendix b: fish with the highest levels of mercury and pops

I think it is important to alert you to the types of seafood—wherever they may be caught—that are highest in mercury and persistent organic pollutants

(POPs).

First, a brief primer on why mercury and POPs should be avoided.

MERCURY

Mercury can damage developing brains and nervous systems; it is therefore extremely important to monitor the mercury exposure of young children, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and women of child-bearing age. Mercury is stored in our bodies and can cause health problems, so even women who are not thinking of becoming pregnant and men should limit their mercury consumption.

Seafood with the highest mercury levels that should be avoided: shark, swordfish, tilefish (golden bass or golden snapper), king mackerel, grouper, marlin, and orange roughy.

Seafood with high levels of mercury that should be limited: saltwater bass, croaker, halibut, sea trout, bluefish, American/Maine lobster, and all kinds of tuna, but especially the larger tunas, such as bluefin, yellowtail, and older albacore. Albacore does have higher mercury levels than the other types of fish I recommend in this book; however, keep in mind that the younger the fish, the less mercury is stored in their bodies. Pacific Coast albacore are caught young, and their mercury levels are lower than those of older tuna caught in other areas.

POPS

Persistent organic pollutants are so named because, to oversimplify, the damn things just won’t go away. One type of POP is PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls (another is DDT), which are hormone-disrupting neurotoxins that have been banned in the United States since 1977. PCBs are found in high levels in fish that come from polluted waters; they are especially concentrated in the skin and fat of the fish. State health advisories alert residents to avoid or limit eating certain fish from polluted waters.

Seafood with high levels of POPs that should be avoided: farmed salmon (whose feed may contain species with concentrated amounts of toxins) and species from unregulated countries where environmental laws are much more lax.

sustainable seafood resources

RECOMMENDED WEBSITES

Alaska Department of Fish and Game: www.adfg.state.ak.us

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: www.alaskaseafood.org

Chefs Collaborative’s Seafood Solutions: http://chefscollaborative.org/programs/chef-the-sea

Environmental Defense Fund’s Seafood Selector: www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1521

International Pacific Halibut Commission: www.iphc.washington.edu

Marine Stewardship Council: www.msc.org

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch: www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/seafoodwatch.aspx

Pacific Fishery Management Council: www.pcouncil.org

Salmon Safe: www.salmonsafe.org

Save Our Wild Salmon (SOS): www.wildsalmon.org

Seafood Choices Alliance: www.seafoodchoices.com

Seasonal Cornucopia: www.seasonalcornucopia.com

Seattle Aquarium: www.seattleaquarium.org

Sustainable Sushi: www.sustainablesushi.net

RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Bottomfeeder: How to Eat Ethically in a World of Vanishing Seafood by Taras Grescoe (Bloomsbury USA, 2008)

Fish Forever: The Definitive Guide to Understanding, Selecting, and Preparing Healthy, Delicious, and Environmentally Sustainable Seafood by Paul Johnson (Wiley, 2007)

Fish Without a Doubt: The Cook’s Essential Companion by Rick Moonen and Roy Finamore (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2008)

Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food by Paul Greenberg (Penguin Press, 2010)

Sustainable