Emily and Carly Korman

Period: 8/9 C. Hill

We created a "Fish Guide" that provides you with information on what types of fish are healthy or unhealthy to eat including fish from Lake Michigan. We wrote vital questions you should ask yourself when ordering fish at various restaurants, as well as health concerns regarding sushi. Below shows questions you should ask when ordering fish and health risks with sushi consumption, (and sources). That is only a small portion of our guide, we have many other pages about fish (safe/unsafe/Lake Michigan). 

Questions to Raise when Ordering Fish:

• What country is it from?
• Is the fish wild-caught or farm-raised?
• If it is farmed, how was it grown? (Was it raised in a polluting open net pen or in a contained tank or pond?)
• If it is wild, how was it caught? (Were long lines used, or was it caught by pole? Long lines often catch extra unwanted "bycatch.")
• Are populations of this fish healthy and abundant? (Small, fast-growing fish can withstand more fishing pressure, while large, slow-growing species are more vulnerable to overfishing.)
• Are there eco-friendly alternatives?
• Is this fish really a... (red snapper, wild salmon, grouper, etc.)? These are prime candidates for fish fraud.

Possible Fish Fraud if:

• A price too good to be true for a highly desired fish like red snapper or grouper.
• Out-of-season fish, like wild salmon from Alaska, being sold “fresh” in winter months.
• Wacky labels you know not to be true, such as "farmed Chilean sea bass" (only caught in the wild) or "wild Atlantic salmon" (an endangered species and not commercially available).

Sushi: Good or Bad?

Health risk: Parasites

The biggest health risk in sushi is parasites, heavy metals and bacteria. The FDA requires that all fish served raw must be frozen at a minimum of minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit for 7 days or minus 31 degrees for fifteen hours. This FDA requirement means that most sushi in the U.S. is likely to be free of parasites.

CAUTION: you cannot kill parasites by freezing fish in your home. Your freezers cannot freeze the fish fast enough. Parasites would survive this process!

How to Protect Yourself

1. Saltwater Fish: These fish are less likely to be infected than freshwater fish. Freshwater fish like catfish and trout have higher risk of infection
2. Wasabi: Use your wasabi, it naturally kills parasites!
3. Ocean: Choose fish from the Atlantic over those from pacific. Pacific has a higher population and can spread more parasites.
4. Farmed may be better: Choose farmed fish over wild caught. Farmed fish are raised in controlled environments and rarely have parasites.
5. Tuna: Tuna is rarely affected by parasites, but be aware that they are high in mercury content.
6. Ask for “sashimi grade” fish: These fish go through all the FDA requirements and guarantee safety.
7. Ask for young fish: They have been around for less time and will be less likely to have gotten parasites.

SOURCES

Good to Eat or Bad to Eat?:   

http://longevity.about.com/od/lifelongnutrition/a/fish_mercury.htm http://www.rodalenews.com/healthy-fish  

http://www.prevention.com/food/healthy-eating-tips/12-unhealthy-fish-avoid-eating?s=13

http://www.wbez.org/series/curious-city/fish-and-risks-eating-lake-michigan-catch-109808

Questions to Raise:

http://seafood.edf.org/buying-fish-what-you-need-know

Sea food in HP:

http://www.google.com/search?q=seafood+in+Highland+Park+Illinois&npsic=0&rflfq=1&tbm=

Side Note - Raw Sushi Safe?

http://renegadehealth.com/blog/2013/09/30/1-sushi-health-risk-parasites-with-7-tips-to-protect-yourself