Does Eating Fish Pose a Health Risk?

Fish are increasingly seen as a healthy food -- and with justification.

Seafood is a good source of protein, omega-3 fats, and other nutrients. But there are concerns over toxic chemicals and metals in fish.

Despite assurances from the seafood industry, consumers are a bit worried about the safety of fish.

A consumer at the fish market said, "You've got to watch what you're eating these days."

But it's not stopping them from buying fish at record rates.

One shopper said that the average they consumed in about a year was probably around 400 or 500 pounds.

But according to Jackie Savitz of the environmental group Oceana, that could be a problem. She's concerned about the toxic mercury in fish.

Savitz said, "The real concern is that an EPA scientist has estimated that one in six women already has enough mercury in her body to pose a developmental risk to her developing baby. That's too many -- one in six."

The Food and Drug Administration does have guidelines for women of childbearing age and children 12 and under:

Because of mercury, that advisory warns them to eat no swordfish, shark, king mackerel, or tilefish.

They are also advised to limit consumption of canned tuna and tuna steaks, leaning toward light tuna varieties.

Anne Forristall Luke represents the canned tuna industry, as head of the U.S. Tuna Foundation. She says look to the healthy omega-3 fats in all fish including tuna:

"But the main point I think people should know, is not so much how does one fish compare with another, but that they should be eating a lot more fish than they're currently eating," said Luke.

Beyond mercury, there are also concerns about a range of harmful industrial chemicals in some fish.

Barbara Knuth at Cornell University co-directed an extensive study on those chemicals found in wild salmon versus farmed salmon:

"Wild pacific salmon was lower in contamination than farmed Atlantic salmon," Knuth said. "Our findings suggested that the least contaminated farmed Atlantic salmon came from South America, primarily from Chile."

But Knuth says those farmed salmon may now be safer since their 2004 study -- the fish are getting better diets.

Farmed fish, or aquaculture, is indeed the wave of the future. Ewan McLean heads the aquaculture program at Virginia Tech. His team is developing environmentally-safe water systems for the fish to thrive in:

McLean said, "Within minute detail, we can be sure that the product that comes out of recirculating aquaculture facilities is going to be very, very high and the product is going to be very, very safe."

McLean points to already safe farmed fish like the tilapia from Blue Ridge Aquaculture. Simply put, the four million pounds it produces in a year are fed properly and kept disease-free.

"Aquaculture gives us the ability to manipulate the final product. It's already very healthy for you. We can do even better in the future with more research," said Steve Craig, a Ph.D. from Virginia Tech.
So what is the public left with today?

Most fish and non-fish seafood-- like shrimp and crabs -- are safe, mainly due to short life spans.

But when it comes to local fish caught by family or friends -- experts say use some caution and watch for state and local advisories.

Ultimately, the safest way to get the omega-3 benefits of fish, without the risk, is to take fish oil products that are purified.

At a minimum, choosing fish according to the FDA warnings for women and children is considered smart.

And, when shopping for fish, look for supermarket labeling that is kept current. Joe Brown is the seafood manager for the Farm Fresh chain.

"To make sure that if we change species or the country of origin changes that we can readily identify it -- to reach all of our stores within a matter of hours," Brown said.

Two trends that are in the consumer's favor: stores that offer a wide variety of fish -- and consumers themselves becoming more informed about fish safety and nutrition.

The likely outcome is better health for individuals and families.