"shark" news and stories

You've seen the "dirty dozen" list for produce -- fruits and vegetables that are laden with pesticides, making it worth the cost of buying organic. But did you know there's also a dirty dozen list for fish? Food & Water Watch -- a non-profit group that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainably produced -- publishes an annual "do not eat" list.

Why is it noteworthy? As Barry Estabrook, writer at The Atlantic, explains in a recent article, "Seafood guides tend to focus either on species that should be avoided for reasons related to environmental health (overfishing) or species that should be avoided for reasons related to human health (their flesh is contaminated with chemicals). Food and Water Watch publishes a useful guide that takes both concerns into account."

The below fish fail at least two of their criteria for safe and sustainable seafood. The five criteria are: contaminants; status of the stock; catch method or farming method; economic/social/cultural significance (a community predominantly fishes for this species and depends on it); and key species (it's a primary food source for other wildlife or does it create critical habitat for other wildlife).

• Imported catfish
• Caviar from wild-caught sturgeon
• Atlantic cod
• American eel
• Atlantic flounder, sole, and halibut
• Imported king crab
• Imported shrimp
• Farmed salmon
• Chilean seabass
• Shark
• Atlantic bluefin tuna

The good news? Food & Water Watch offers a downloadable wallet-size guide to "smart" seafood, and also has resources on the site to help you find sustainable alternatives based on your fish tastes (mild, thick and flavorful, etc.).

I love seafood. Growing up, my family used to spend summers on Cape Cod, and we regularly grilled swordfish, tuna, and salmon on the back porch. When I got a little older, I discovered sushi, and I recently began eating raw oysters, a delicacy that I'd avoided for years. There are some weird items, like sea cucumber and cuttlefish that still give me the heebie-jeebies, but I will try pretty much any denizen of the deep, as long as it is properly prepared and relatively fresh.

As I've gotten older, though, the fish market has become like a game of Russian roulette in which the chambers are loaded with a mixture of mercury poisoning, overfishing, and guilt. As more and more warnings about pollution make the rounds, I find myself trying to decide between the great prices of farm-raised and the supposed safety of wild caught produce. Meanwhile, I also have to worry that my fish of choice is being overharvested, leading to depletion in the ocean, the end of biodiversity, and (presumably) armageddon. Given the consequences of the wrong decision, I'm more and more likely to forgo the ocean's bounty in favor of a nice, juicy hamburger.

Recently, however, Stop & Shop has made it a little easier for me to navigate the rocky shoals of politically correct pescotarianism. Recognizing the danger of overfishing certain species, they've decided to stop selling shark, orange roughy, and Chilean sea bass until these species have repopulated. As the Quincy, Massachusetts-based supermarket operates 360 stores, this is a pretty impressive commitment to the environment. At the same time, it's a nice step toward making fish delicious and guilt-free!