The people of New Jersey enjoying their summer by eating seafood but they are in fixed to decide which fish to eat and which not. Health as well as environmental issues has raised several questions over the eating of fish. It is said that mercury, PCBs, dioxin and other contaminants in our oceans, rivers and lakes have made their way into some fish and shellfish, reducing their value as healthy food choices.
There is the option of buying organically farm-raised fish that are largely free of contaminants that may be found in their wild cousins. But some fish farming harms the ecology of our estuaries and impacts the habitats of native fish. The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services can help sort out the safety of the catch of the day with “Fish Smart, Eat Smart: A Guide to Health Advisories for Eating Fish and Crabs Caught in New Jersey Waters.”
The guide recommends a limit of no more than one meal of freshwater fish per week. It is told that among coastal saltwater species, the state report recommends eating only limited amounts of striped bass, bluefish and American eel — and high-risk individuals are advised to skip these altogether. Many of our societal systems and cultures around food evolved at times when the Earth’s population was much lower. Continuing our habits with an exploding human population simply will not work in the long run. Our illusion of bounty is just that, an illusion — an ecological version of the Internet stock bubble or the real estate market bubble.
