Give Fish and Seafood a Second Chance

What your customers need to know?

Eat fish and seafood at a second meal each week… or double up how often you eat it already.

The health benefits of eating two servings of fish and seafood outweigh the risks you may be thinking about. Fish and seafood are also more nutritious than many plant-based options.

Now, let’s talk about the risks you are concerned about.

Mercury is a real concern. But it’s time to rethink your beliefs about mercury and other industrial chemicals. They accumulate up the food chain and concentrate in some of the carnivores that eat other fish and shellfish. Just a handful of types of fish are high in mercury: tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, marlin, shark, orange roughy, bigeye tuna, king mackerel, and swordfish.
So, just avoid those varieties which are highest in mercury. That’s especially important if you are pregnant or nursing. But eating a variety of other kinds of fish and seafood will improve your child’s brain health and your own.
Most fish and seafood is free of all antibiotics. All wild capture fish is antibiotic free and many kinds of farmed fish also are produced without antibiotics. Many aquaculture producers that use antibiotics are taking steps to eliminate their use, often faster than meat and poultry producers.
Plastic pollution. The health and environmental impacts of plastic pollution in our oceans are still being explored. We do know the fishing industry has been a source of the pollution from discarded lines, nets, and other fishing gear. Today, the seafood industry is working to help make our oceans healthier. Leading companies are eliminating plastic waste from fishing operations.
Sustainability is important and our food choices matter a lot. Fish and seafood has a lower carbon footprint than most other protein choices, especially if you avoid air freighted fresh fish, intensively farmed shrimp, and fish caught using bottom trawling. The seafood industry is leading on sustainability among all protein producers in reducing their environmental impact. (Be sure to share specific examples from your company, your suppliers. and your partners.)

Market Insights

3 out of every 10 American adults want to eat more fish and seafood. For more than a third of all adults, those looking to eat less red meat, replacing it with fish and seafood is their top choice. However, consumers have real concerns about the health of our oceans, what’s in fish and seafood they’ll be eating, like antibiotics, mercury, and micro-plastic pollution.