Is it safe to eat any fish?

i just wanted to know cause i love fish but have been too scared to eat it. I have heard that only a few types are high in mercury and others are ok.

does any one know which ones to avoid or is it best to just avoid them all??

Even the fish with mercury you can have occassionally. You can have normal fish like ling (im not a fish person) definitely salmon, and I have had heaps of tuna. There will be a thread somewhere saying which fish to avoid or have rarely, I think there's only about 3 and I've not heard of two of them. Fish is really good to eat during pregnancy for health benefits, particularly the omega 3 oils.

I asked about this a few weeks ago, so the thread will be around somewhere.

You need to limit fish like Flake (shark), Mackrel, swordfish etc (the ones higher in the food chain) to once a week.

You should have only 3 serves of fish/seafood a week, and make sure that it is well cooked, and fresh. You MUST NOT eat raw fish like suhi, oysters etc...

I am not sure about shell fish, or the seafood extender stuff...

Mel's right with that list of "end of the food chain" fish. Mercury is the issue. But you can still eat them at least once a week. Fish is one of the healthiest proteins and you shouldn't avoid it if you usually enjoy it.

The Australian Dietary Guidelines advise eating one or two meals with fish every week for good health. Pregnant women can safely eat one or two meals of fish each week but they should choose the type of fish carefully.

Avoid fish with high levels of mercury - these are billfish (swordfish, broadbill and marlin), shark (flake), orange roughy (sea perch), gemfish, southern blue fin tuna and catfish.
Limit other fish, such as tuna steaks, to one portion per week or two 140g cans of tuna per week (smaller tuna contain less mercury).
There is no restriction needed on the amount of salmon, including canned salmon, which is eaten.


Alan (Midwife)

Yeh i was just told no Flake, Swordfish or Octypus so i had Snapper for dinner last night.. :D

As long as you don't eat a can of Tuna a day you should be fine.. :D

We have snapper every week at the moment cause DP is going fishing every saturday morning. Just great!!
Yep - what they have all said. Just the big deepsea type fishies I think. And even they are OK in moderation.
Oh - I really have to cut back on my tuna. I forgot that tuna in cans was naughty in too much!!! I have 2-4 tins a week for a snack!!!

Hi!!
I crave smoked salmon but have resisted the urge to eat it as i'm not sure if it's safe or not, i have looked on the net but haven't come across anything written about that particular food... :smt100 any info would be appreciated.

angela

Hi an29

If you can be sure that the has been smoked very well then it should be OK but I think it would be better to avoid smoked salmon during pregnancy as this is raw fish and most raw fish can contain some nasties.

Hi Tulip
Anchovies and sardines should be OK. Im not sure about muscles though.
Most shellfish are filter feeders and can absorbe all sorts of yucky stuff. I think I would give them a miss.