Fish tail

Charles Schiller

Real Simple asked Tim Fitzgerald, a marine scientist for the Oceans program of the nonprofit organization Environmental Defense, to list the healthiest picks for you―and for the environment. You can download and cut out a foldable pocket-size guide.

* Because this fish is high in mercury or other contaminants, those who are pregnant, nursing, of child-bearing age, or feeding young children should avoid it entirely. 

Twice a Week:

  • Catfish, U.S.
  • Caviar, U.S. farmed
  • Char, Arctic; farmed
  • Clams, farmed
  • Crab, Dungeness and stone
  • Herring, Atlantic
  • Mackerel, Atlantic
  • Mussels, farmed
  • Salmon, wild Alaskan
  • Scallops, bay; farmed
  • Shrimp, U.S. farmed
  • Striped bass, farmed
  • Sturgeon, farmed
  • Tilapia, U.S.
  • Trout, rainbow; farmed

Once a Week:

  • Halibut, Pacific
  • Sablefish (a.k.a. black cod), Alaska or Canada
  • Tuna, albacore (a.k.a. white); canned or fresh; U.S. or Canada*
  
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