Don't Forget Ecological Concerns When Choosing Which Fish To Put On Your Grill

Let the others have their patties and links. This summer, prep your grill for scallops and salmon and other creatures from the sea.

The health benefits of seafood – low cholesterol, high protein and plenty of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids – make it an attractive choice for supping in summer or any time of the year. But as seafood soars in popularity, concerns grow that many species are being fished past the point where their populations can rebound.

Conservation groups urge consumers to choose sustainable fish – those that have healthy populations or are farmed in an environmentally sound manner.

Executive chef Christian Graves of Jsix Restaurant in the Hotel Solamar downtown relies on the Monterey Bay Aquarium's “Seafood Watch” list of acceptable, ocean-friendly seafood. He says the aquarium has been criticized for being stringent in its selections, but he doesn't feel handcuffed by the restrictions. Rather, he likes the challenge of cooking more creatively.

Salmon dilemma

The perilous state of wild fish populations was illustrated in April, when state and federal regulators took the unprecedented step of shutting down most salmon fishing off California and Oregon because of sharp declines in the number of the fish returning to the Sacramento River to spawn.

Yet there are also concerns about the environmental effects of fish farming. The Seafood Watch list of fish to avoid includes farmed salmon, in part because the waste from farms in coastal waters is released into the ocean, where it may spread parasites and disease to wild fish.

read the full article in the San Diego Union Tribune.