What Fish Are Bad For Your Health?

MayoClinic.com reports that eating fish may reduce your risk of heart disease, and this may be true for various types of fish including salmon and trout. Not all fish are the same, and some should not be in your diet. Learning more about certain species of fish will guide you as you choose the types of seafood your diet should include.

Farm-raised Salmon

While salmon is one of the most healthful fish you can eat, you should choose wild Alaskan salmon if you want the most benefit from your seafood. Farmed salmon often encounter pollutants that end up in the meat you consume. David Helvarg, Philippe Cousteau and Jim Toomey note in their book, "50 Ways to Save the Ocean," that the process of farming salmon can cause pollution in the waters around the farms, which can contaminate your salmon and other species living there.

Swordfish

Swordfish is a large species that survives by eating smaller fish and sea creatures. Large fish that swim in areas contaminated by industrial mercury absorb it into their flesh. Swordfish are more dangerous to eat because they retain more of the mercury, which you consume when you eat the fish. Mercury is of particular danger to pregnant women and young children because it can get in the way of proper nervous system development, the Food and Drug Administration reports.

Bluefish

Bottom feeders, like bluefish, tend to be higher in certain contaminants referred to as organic chemicals. The most common contaminants are PCBs, which settle to the bottom and lodge in the sediment where bottom feeders live and eat. These toxic chemicals build up in the flesh and you eat them when you consume the fish. Eating bluefish will expose you to more of these PCBs, which link to learning problems in children and may contribute to cancer as well. Other bottom feeders that are unhealthy to eat include wild striped bass, American eel and sea trout.

Imported Catfish

Catfish raised in the United States is safe to eat because of restrictions on the use of antibiotics and illegal drugs. It is more difficult to regulate the use of these substances in catfish raised in foreign waters. There have been cases when the FDA has discovered the presences of illegal drugs in catfish imported from China, which suggests that imported catfish may be an unhealthy seafood option. Opting for locally-raised catfish will allow you to consume this species without the danger of consuming banned drugs.