Plenty Magazine, Mindy Pennybacker
Published July 31, 2008
There are a couple of bright spots in the bleak picture for wild tuna, whose overfished and mercury-laden stocks are collapsing worldwide. It's U.S. and British Columbia Pacific albacore, which is, only if caught by troll or pole, endorsed as a "best choice" by Monterey Bay Aquariaum (MBAYAQ) Seafood Watch. And this albacore's in season now, from July through September. This younger, smaller tuna, caught within 200 miles from the coast, has got high levels of heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids, and moderate mercury levels rather than the high levels found in its overfished cousins, including bigeye and the noble bluefin. Skipjack, that's troll or pole caught, is the only other tuna on MBAYAQ's best choice list. Both are also certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC).
This eco-albacore, which has pinkish, almost white flesh when cooked, is to be distinguished from canned albacore, which has higher mercury levels than canned light (chunk) tuna, generally a moderate mercury fish. For more info and where to buy, see PacificAlbacore.com. We can safely eat six ounces of moderate mercury fish once a week, per the FDA's advice, while more cautious organizations such as the Environmental Working Group recommend less frequent tuna noshing calibrated to your weight. To be safest, aside from eating no tuna, children and women of childbearing age should probably only eat six ounce tuna steaks about once a month. For more info on seafood safety, see Environmental Defense's great overviews on fish contamination and its Seafood Selector card, and the FDA's site.
A correction to Monday's daily bit: Only Pacific sardines are MBAYAQ best choices; Herring, or Atlantic sardines, which are trawled and can thus damage the ocean floor, have been demoted to good alternatives (still not bad).
