Our health and fish sustainability CAN go hand in hand

For years we have heard the benefits of consuming omega-3 found in oily fish. In junior school I remember the craze for parents to give their children Eye Q fish oil capsules to perhaps 'improve their brain and eye health'. In our previous post we discussed a channel 4 TV programme that revealed fish rich in omega-3 are in fact a superfood.

Anyfin is Possible has researched a number of seafood species and graded them across various categories to see whether their sustainability and health-related ratings deem them good to eat. This included studying their sustainability ratings according to the MCS's Good Fish Guide (see explanatory post) and calculating a rough omega-3 value for each species*. We found the omega-3 information very interesting, as some of the seafood we would not usually think of as particularly healthy, actually were. 

* We used the http://nutritiondata.self.com/ website to calculate values for omega-3. 

Mussels (http://shop.lochfyne.com/files/images/1872_large.jpg)

For instance, mussels came up high in the rankings for both categories. Firstly, they have an MCS sustainability rating of 1 due to the fact that they can be farmed easily with no food input and also aid the marine environment by filtering sea water. Secondly, they also have a high value for omega-3 of 483 (mg/100g), compared to that of cod with 195 (mg/100g). This suggests that it is preferable to tuck into 'moules frites' whilst holidaying in France rather than traditional cod and chips in the UK.

New product on the market:

The sustainable omega-3 herring caviar by Tom Oliver Nutrition

“Bringing sustainable and all natural products to our customers is what we do at Whole Foods Market. Tom Oliver Nutrition’s ‘Omega 3 MOPL Herring Caviar’ is the UK’s first environmentally friendly phospholipid Omega 3 supplement and we are happy to support it in our stores.” - Andrew Ragatz, Health & Beauty Associate Coordinator, Whole Foods Market UK.

Tom Oliver Nutrition has grabbed our attention through the launch of an intriguing product in Whole Foods Market stores across the UK. They have released omega-3 MOPL herring caviar, which may sound incredibly fancy but it is simply made from the roe of Norwegian herring. 

The window display at the High Street Kensington Whole Foods Market

Usually, omega-3 fish oils are derived from krill but there can be serious sustainability issues surrounding the use of it. Therefore, using herring instead could prove highly beneficial, as it would take the strain off depleting krill populations. We were very pleased to see that the sustainable herring roe is sourced from an MSC certified fishery and is friends of the sea certified. This product is not only sustainable, but it is great for our health too! The herring caviar is said to benefit heart function, brain health, eye health and fat metabolism. Must be worth a try....