What types of fish are low in mercury?

Question

Are there certain types of fish that are low in mercury? Or do I have to have some sort of device to test this in my home?

Answer 1

Generally it will be fish that are low on the food chain, smaller fish like herring. Because mercury cannot be excreted it is basically trapped in living creatures. As you move up the food chain to the top predators mercury gets concentrated.

Answer 2

Two things you should know about mercury:

1) It's fat soluble - mercury is stored in fatty tissues

2) It is not excreted.

Small fish may contain trace amounts of mercury. When they are eaten by larger fish, mercury starts to accumulate. The higher up the food chain, the greater the concentration

Rule of thumb if you want to avoid mercury in your seafood:

If the entire fish won't fit on a dinner plate, think twice before eating it.

Answer 3

Low mercury: Anchovies, Arctic char, crawfish, Pacific flounder, herring, king crab, sanddabs, scallops, Pacific sole; tilapia, wild Alaska and Pacific salmon; farmed catfish, clams, striped bass, and sturgeon.

High mercury: Mercury levels differ from one species of fish to the next. This is due to factors such as type of fish, size, location, habitat, diet and age. Fish that are predatory (eat other fish) are large and at the top of the food chain, and so tend to contain more mercury. Fish that contain higher levels of mercury include:

    *  Shark

    * Ray

    * Swordfish

    * Barramundi

    * Gemfish

    * Orange roughy

    * Ling

    * Canned or fresh tuna

    * Mackerel

    * Grouper

    * Tilefish

    * Chilean sea bass

Moderate mercury: Alaskan halibut, black cod, blue (Gulf Coast) crab, dungeness crab, Eastern oysters, mahimahi, blue mussels, pollack.