Tuna at Tokyo's Tsukiji Market—overfished and flown round the world
Koichi Kamoshida/Getty Images
There seems to be a sushi joint on every corner in every city in North America, and a lot of fish are being caught to feed this craze. It is an international market, with fish flying round the world to satisfy the demand. But many of these fish are under threat, are being overfished, are no longer safe to eat, or part of a complex chain that makes them unsustainable.
The Environmental Defense Fund has produced an excellent sushi selection guide that can help you out. It divides the fish among Eco-best, eco-OK, and Eco-worst along with the Japanese names for the sushi so that it is easy to find. When online, you can click on the particular fish and get a lot of detail; you can also print out a pocket guide or even get it on your mobile phone—it looks terrific on an iPhone.
Some examples of eco-worst fish:
Yellowtail from Australia and Japan: Most of it is farmed and causing disease and pollution, but more importantly they are vacuuming wild-caught sardines by the ton to feed them, sardines that are food for lots of wild fish higher on the food chain, and are good on their own as a healthy, sustainable food. So even if the fish is fine, its diet isn't.
Red Snapper: It has moderate levels of mercury and should be eaten sparingly, and most red snapper populations are plagued by overfishing and high rates of bycatch.
So print it out or stick it in your phone, but be careful about your Kanikama.
Get more information with the Environmental Defense Fund's Seafood Selector.
