The Healthy Table
by Pat Sinclair

Choosing Sustainable Seafood

Are you trying to serve fish twice a week? That’s what is recommended by the American Heart Association because it is heart-healthy and good for your brain. But there are important ecological issues to consider.

Because of commercial fishing practices and consumer demand, the oceans are being overfished. Based on a recent study, scientists are predicting that there will be nothing but algae and jellyfish left by 2048! That’s only 30 years from now and in many parts of the world fish protein is all that’s available. Scientists are looking for ways to help fishing stocks and oceans rebound.

As the demand for seafood increases worldwide, overfishing is depleting many populations of fish. In other parts of the world such as Asia, fish farming is polluting the oceans. It’s important that fish be caught by proper methods and that commercial fisheries don’t harm other species or habitats.

To support healthy oceans consider carefully what fish you purchase. Make retailers aware that sustainable choices are important to you. When I purchased tilapia for the recipe attached it was labeled as to origin, but the man behind the counter had no idea if it was an environmentally good choice. (It was because it was from Honduras not Asia.)

A good general rule is to buy seafood from American sources because the U.S. has stricter fishing and ocean farming standards than other countries. Countries that have also made progress include Iceland, Canada, New Zealand and parts of Australia. Because of environmental concerns, wild caught fish is almost always better than farmed fish of the same variety.

It’s almost impossible to keep up with what’s current although there are several organizations that provide helpful information. The Monterey Bay Aquarium is the best known and they provide a card showing the best choices for different parts of the country. Their list of “best choices” is from abundant, well-managed populations caught or farmed in environmentally friendly way. You can download these cards at: www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_seafoodwatch/download.aspx.

In a recent posting on her blog, Kim O’Donnel made some generalities to simplify this complicated issue. She suggests that when shopping look for the country of origin on fish. United States/Canada get a green light; Central American means yellow light and Asia gets a red light. Some good choices now include tilapia, wild Pacific salmon, wild Gulf shrimp, U.S. catfish, cobia and black cod.

Additional rules of thumb to keep in mind include:

• In these lean economic times canned tuna provides a low cost protein. Canned light albacore tuna and canned “light” tuna, especially skipjack tuna, are the best choice environmentally.
• Buy wild domestic shrimp. Look for the following brands: SeaPak, Caught Fresh, Dominick’s and Emeril’s. (SeaPak is distributed by SuperValu.)

More information and recipes at www.PatCooksandBakes.blogspot.com.

Any kind of Cajun seasoning adds spicy heat to this lycopene-rich tomato sauce. Adjust the amount depending on your tastes. You can use any mild flavored fish, but I often use tilapia because it is relatively inexpensive and has a mild flavor and meaty texture. Don’t overcook the fish- it should be just cooked through in the middle. To judge this, lift a small portion in the center with the tip of a knife to see if it is done.

Cajun Fish with Brown Rice
Makes 2 servings

2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/4 cup chopped celery
2 fillets (about 4 ounces each) mild
fish such as tilapia, cod or halibut
1 can (15 ounces) diced tomatoes
1/2 –1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups cooked brown rice

Heat the olive oil over medium high heat in a 9-inch non-stick sauté pan. Add the onion, green pepper and celery. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally, until tender. Add the tomatoes and seasoning and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer about 3 minutes to thicken the juices. Stir in the tomato paste.
Add the fish and spoon some of the sauce over top. Cover and continue cooking on low until the fish is just cooked through, 6 to 8 minutes for thin fillets. Increase the cooking time for thicker cuts of fish.
Serve the fish and sauce over brown rice.

Mix It Up
Onion, green pepper and celery are called the “trinity” in Cajun cooking because they are always used together. Unless you eat a lot of celery, I suggest buying a small amount from the salad bar at the supermarket. I sometimes use a red or yellow pepper instead of the green pepper because I like the
flavor better.

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