14 Types of Fish That You Shouldn’t Eat

Consumption: Not recommended for those with digestive issues

This fish, sometimes called the oilfish, contains gempylotoxin – a waxy substance that cannot be digested at all. The substance doesn’t do much harm, but it can lead to indigestion.  To reduce the levels of gempylotoxin, it is best to fry or grill this fish.

10. CAVIAR

A mysterious luxury. Some people love it and it’s expensive.

However, we are advised to stay away from beluga sturgeon’s eggs, aka caviar because according to Oceana, this type of fish that produces the beloved and overpriced caviar is in great danger.

Namely, beluga sturgeon fish is completely gone from many rivers and seas where it used to live and scientists from all over the world fear that it may go extinct. So, if we keep eating it instead of protecting it, it may be gone forever.

If, however, you cannot imagine your life without caviar, try consuming the more sustainable and healthier alternative – caviar that comes from blue sturgeon raised in recirculating aquaculture systems in America. When the beluga sturgeon is farmed in closed tanks there is less waste, escapes, and diseases.

What to eat instead: fish eggs from American Lake Sturgeon.

11.SHARK

 

Yes, people eat even them. Yet, sharks are often found on lists of fish you oughtn’t to eat for many reasons.

First, sharks stand high on the food chain because they are considered to be the kings of the sea. Being higher on the food chain translates into having higher mercury levels in them. You should stay away from foods that contain mercury because they are toxic.

Second, sharks are very slow to sexually mature, plus they don’t give birth to many offspring and therefore they are tragically depleted. Sharks are also being discarded as waste by swordfish and tuna fishers.

What to eat instead: Atlantic Mackerel and Pacific Halibut.

12.SWORDFISH

Like tuna, it contains high amounts of mercury. So, pregnant women and children should not consume this type of fish. Men can eat it once in a month.

When it comes to swordfish, the main thing that forbids eating them is the elevated levels of mercury inside them. Mercury in swordfish is so high, that Environmental Defense Fund recommends children and women to avoid it altogether. As for men, they recommend eating just one serving per month.

What to eat instead: Sole and Trout.

13. KING MACKEREL

Because of the high mercury and methyl mercury level, this is one of the types of fish that children and pregnant women should not consume.

Mackerel contains healthy omega-3 fatty acids. However, certain types of this kind of fish could be too much for you in the essence that they contain too much mercury. The Food and Drug Administration is warning children and women to stay away from king mackerel because it has been discovered to contain elevated levels of mercury.

If you want to eat a healthy mackerel, try Atlantic mackerel. This type has high levels of omega-3s and is low in mercury; therefore it is highly preferred for its sustainability and healthiness.

What to eat instead: Atlantic Mackerel-low in mercury.

14.ORANGE ROUGHY

 

These fish can live more than 100 years and reproduces late in life. It includes high levels of mercury and is overfished.

Being one of the fish species that live the longest, orange roughy is said to live 150 years. It is also known as slimehead among scientists, but marketers decided to give it a fancy name and the result is a severely overfished species.

“The extremely long lifespan and the late age at maturity imply that a decimated population may take a half-century or longer before it can recover,” according to Oceana. Orange roughy doesn’t reach sexual maturity until they are 20-years-old and that makes them hard to recover.

Furthermore, orange roughy is known to have high mercury levels.

What to eat instead: Yellow Snapper.

How to Choose Fish 

•     Fresh fish will have shiny scales and eyes, so if a fish has dry fins and gray gills, it is not fresh. If the tail is limp, that is also an indicator that the fish is not fresh.
•     When buying live fish from a tank, make sure the water is clear. Choose the fish that are closer to the bottom.
•     When buying salmon, choose the chunks with white threads in them – if a chunk is completely red, it has probably been dyed.

Also read: Why You Should Eat A Banana And An Avocado Every Day

Source: wikipeida.org

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