What About Seafood?
For an expectant mom, trying to eat seafood as safely as possible is difficult because the USDA has no classification yet for organic seafood. Therefore, seafood is a double-edged sword. On the one edge, some varieties of fish offer high levels of the fatty acids that help a baby’s brain grow well. The omega-3 oils in Pacific salmon, for example, offer powerful benefits to both you and your baby. A 2007 study even suggested that women who regularly eat fish during pregnancy have smarter babies. But on the other edge of that sword, a number of species—including tuna, swordfish, Atlantic salmon, and Chilean sea bass—can contain high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, and other contaminants.
In the future I would like to see strict government regulations to control the industrial emissions that cause pollution of our rivers, lakes, and oceans. But for now, the fact is that there is a big difference between the benefits and risks of different types of seafood. So I recommend that you choose those with the greatest health benefits, the least contaminants, and the most positive impact on the environment.
Are Wild-Caught Fish Always Healthier?
Wild-caught fish are harvested from their natural habitat. They may have a more varied diet, less disease, and lower levels of contaminants than farmed fish—or not, depending on the species and location of the fish. And, despite labels you may see on their packaging, they may not really be wild-caught. Fortunately, the Marine Stewardship Council at www.msc.org provides a certification program. For products from a wild-capture fishery to be eligible to display the MSC logo, the fishery must undergo a certification by an accredited certification body (and the supply chain must undergo a chain of custody certification) to ensure sustainability, traceability, and prevent mislabeling. You can obtain further information by visiting the MSC’s Web site at www.msc.org.
Focus on healthier, eco-friendly seafood that is high in omega-3s and low in contaminants for you and your baby. Here are some great choices: Green Parent Alert
Wild Alaskan or Pacific salmon Canned wild pink or sockeye salmon Sardines Farmed oysters Atlantic mackerel (not king mackerel), Atlantic herring, and anchovies Blue crab, flounder, and haddock (very low in contaminants) Farmed trout (both healthy and ecologically sound, unlike farmed shrimp) Farmed abalone Farmed catfish Farmed (not wild) caviar Farmed clams Dungeness crab Snow crab Stone crab Mahi mahi Farmed mussels Bay scallops Farmed scallops Northern shrimp, Oregon shrimp, spot prawns Farmed striped bass Farmed sturgeon
The high levels of mercury found in some fish is especially troubling for the unborn baby. Mercury damages a fetus’s immune system and kidneys, and interferes with normal brain development. For this reason, despite the value of seafood, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the EPA have recommended that pregnant women avoid shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish entirely. I agree with this, but would recommend that you also avoid canned tuna, sea bass, Gulf Coast oysters, marlin, halibut, pike, walleye, grouper, orange roughy, rock cod, and largemouth bass while pregnant. And of course, look for local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas.
Should you eat wild or farmed fish? This is not always an easy choice. Farm-raised fish are fish raised in inland ponds, a room of tanks, or even a net enclosure in a bay, ocean, or lake. Some farmed fish are great for you; some are poor choices, especially during pregnancy. Farm-raised salmon, for example, contains significantly higher concentrations of PCBs, dioxin, and other cancer-causing contaminants than salmon caught in the wild, according to a study of commercial fish sold in North America, South America, and Europe. It also tends to contain lower levels of beneficial omega-3s.
Concerns About Shrimp and Tuna
Shrimp and prawns account for 31 percent of all seafood sales. Although shrimp is low in mercury, it is often not sustainably harvested or raised. In fact, shrimp trawling can be one of the most harmful fishing practices, due to high by-catch (meaning that other species are killed inadvertently along with the shrimp harvest). Shrimp aquaculture can also destroy coastal wetlands and mangrove forests. The often indiscriminate use, or misuse, of antibiotics, pesticides, and other water and shrimp feed additives is another reason to avoid most farmed shrimp. If you want shrimp, northern shrimp, Oregon shrimp, and spot prawns may be your best bets. Or you might also enjoy bay scallops or farmed scallops.
Save the Fish
Seafood can be highly nutritious, but the fishing methods used worldwide are endangering this valuable food source. According to the journal Nature, 90 percent of large predatory fish, such as tuna, swordfish, and sharks, have already disappeared from the world’s oceans. The New York Times reports this dire warning: “If fishing around the world continues at its present pace, more and more species will vanish, marine ecosystems will unravel and there will be ‘global collapse’ of all species currently fished, possibly as soon as midcentury.”
But there is hope. Environmental Defense has published a research-based 2007 plan to replenish our oceans: Sustaining America’s Fisheries and Fishing Communities: An Evaluation of Incentive-Based Management. Let’s all keep an eye on which fishing methods are most disruptive, which fish are most endangered, and which fishing locations are most ecologically threatened—and on which seafood choices are healthiest for us and for our planet. You can make seafood choices that help you, your family, and the oceans. As conditions evolve, please visit these two sites for up-to-date information that will help explain this global problem and your role in its solution: Monterey Bay Aquarium Guide: www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp Environmental Defense Guide: www.oceansalive.org
Try This Today
Tuna too should move to your “avoid” list. Despite FDA recommendation that women can safely eat up to six ounces of albacore (white) tuna, weekly,24 an EPA analysis shows that if women follow this advice, more than 90 percent of all women (and their babies) would be exposed to mercury above the government’s safe dose at least once during the pregnancy.
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