It used to be that eating seafood and fish regularly was a pretty safe nutritional bet. Fish was packed with protein, healthy monounsaturated fats, omega-3 fatty acids, all those good things (read more about benefits of fish oil).
Unfortunately, due to our continued poisoning of the environment and the Fukushima power plant meltdown, many fish are now loaded with unsafe levels of mercury and radiation.All fish, every single fish on this planet, have some level of mercury; however, some have much higher levels than others.
Take a look at our list of the top 15 most contaminated fish on the market today. Avoid eating these or eat them in very small quantities, unless you are an expectant mother, in which case, avoid these fish entirely. However, we will list the best fish to eat at the end of this article, too, so keep reading!.
9Chilean Sea Bass
As if it’s not bad enough that this fish is contaminated with higher levels of mercury than the United States, and most other countries, feel is dangerously unsafe, they have also been hunted to the brink of extinction. If you see Chilean Sea Bass listed for sale, it’s either a different type of fish with an erroneous label, or it has been caught illegally. In fact, Greenpeace states that, unless fishing practices change, and people stop eating this fish, Chilean Sea Bass could become extinct within five years’ time.
By the way, there technically is no Chilean Sea Bass. This is a marketing makeover name because many people, especially Americans, find its true name a bit distasteful. Chilean Sea Bass are actually called Patagonian Toothfish.
