If you don’t have a sea guide on you, here’s a safe-seafood list to tape to your omega-hungry brain.
FARMED SHELLFISH
I’m talkin’ farmed mussels, clams, scallops and oysters. Shellfish farms actually filter the ocean floor and don’t require extra feed. Wild kinds are harvested using harmful dredging.
FARMED INLAND FISH
Skip the mess around open-pen fish farms that muddy the waters and sicken wild fish. Go for eco-safe fish farmed inland in closed containers: Arctic char tilapia from North or Central America U.S. catfish, barramundi (aka barra/giant perch, giant/white sea bass) and rainbow trout. (Canadian stuff may be farmed inland or in dodgier open pens, so ask for details.)
SMALL FISH
Small fish are fast reproducers and low on the toxicity scale, so you can chow down on sardines, anchovies, herring and mackerel with minimal guilt.
***For a pocket guide or iPhone app telling you which fish are on the red/yellow/green list, go to seachoice.org.