Which Type of Salmon Should I Buy?

When I am standing in line at the seafood department at the grocery store, I get so confused about which type of salmon to buy. I know I need to get wild Alaskan salmon, but aside from that I am lost.

Salmon is such a great source of omega 3 fatty acids and we want to eat it often, but we also need to make sure we are choosing a sustainable fish.

Farmed Atlantic Salmon: Most all salmon found in the Atlantic is farmed, and the wild population has been overfished. Even though the farms remain in-demand, the overall Atlantic salmon population is dwindling. In addition, when these farmed salmon escape their confinement, they disturb the habitat of the endangered wild salmon.

The scary part is that these farmed salmon contain more toxins and pesticides than wild salmon. However, many experts agree that these risks can be overlooked because of the high amount of omega-3's you will be ingesting.

Wild Atlantic Salmon: Never buy this type of salmon as it is now an endangered species!
Organic Salmon: Do not pay any attention to this. Organic does not always mean "the best". Just check to see if it is wild or farmed.
Alaskan Salmon: This is often your best choice as wild Alaskan salmon fishing techniques are environmentally sound and the population is said to be growing. Look for wild Alaskan Coho, Chum, King, Sockeye, Pink, Red, Silver, or Sake salmon varieties.
Pacific Salmon: This is probably your next best choice if you cannot get Alaskan.

I would not recommend buying any Atlantic salmon mainly because the farmed salmon are putting the overall Atlantic wild population at great risk. The best case scenario would be for all of the fisheries to change their practices. Some countries are already working on this, so we will see what happens. But, for now I'm eating steelhead which is just like salmon in taste and nutrition, but a much more sustainable choice.

Resource: Check Monterey Bay Aquarium website to search sustainable fish.

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