Contaminated Seafood: how to find the "good stuff"

Seafood contamination - primarily in the form of mercury poisoning - is serious business. It has moved beyond the early contaminated species of tuna to other pelagics like swordfish and sharks and continues to spread to other species. But since uncontaminated fish (from sustainable species, of course) can be a healthy component of our diet, how can we be sure we're purchasing seafood that is safe? Where's a good safe place to buy safe seafood?

Oceana.org has assembled a great interactive mapping service: Interactive Grocery Store Map. With this map you can drill down to your local neighborhood and find stores that are on Oceana's "Green List."

This is a big help to the conscientious shopper but, of course, we need to also address the reasons for seafood contamination in the first place. Industrial processes that put mercury vapor into the air or through industrial discharge must be eliminated both in the U.S. and worldwide. The "liquid metal" was fun to play with when I was a child but in the 50+ years since, we've learned it's no plaything.