Do you only eat fish caught in the USA?

[CTyankee]

I have been thoroughly frightened of fish that is caught/processed outside the USA, after hearing reports of unsanitary methods and lax regulations regarding food safety in many other nations.

However, I would like to know if there are other countries with comparable standards of food safety to ours. Is there a list somewhere?

Luckily, I am in New England and we do have the blessing of fresh cod, haddock and salmon (wild caught), sole and flounder. I have been avoiding buying frozen shrimp because I can't find any USA caught.

[grantcart]

1. have there been any break outs of disease because of this or

just a break out of reports?

If you eat any fish out of a can - ie tuna fish then it has been prepared outside of the US for 30 years without a single incident of botulism that I can remember.

[CTyankee]

10. I don't eat canned tuna but for other reasons.

The report on unsafe fish from China was in the news about a year or so ago. That's when I learned about our own food safety regulations. Of course, I have the luxury of choosing fresh caught fish from New England's Atlantic Coast which others don't have. And "luxury" it is...I pay more but usually there are "specials" if the store gets a particularly large shipment. Sometimes that is so recent that they aren't advertised except with a sign in the store saying "manager's special." I love it when that happens!

[Vincardog]

2. I am afraid of any fish caught in the USA. Check out the dangers lurking in our waters before you

cast aspersions.

[CTyankee]

7. I have read that we have stronger food safety laws in the USA.

I'm not flag waving here. I'm sure our standards can be improved. But when calculating risk I like to go for less risk not more...

[Vincardog]

11. It is not a question of HAVING food safety laws it is a question of enforcing water quality laws.

Check out the contamination (lead heavy minerals pesticides and sundry chemicals) to be found in the US inland waters. Not to mention the Great Lakes or the Gulf of Mexico.

[CTyankee]

24. You are right, but having them is better than not having them.

And I figure, why take a chance?

[Codeine]

8. "Aspersions" nt

[SidDithers]

37. I thought it was asparagus...nt

Sid

[Codeine]

39. So THAT'S why my urine smells funny. nt

[timeforpeace]

3. I'm not easily "thoroughly frightened". I'll take the same risks as the other consumers do.

[HipChick]

4. I eat sushi...

Where would I find the labels

[CTyankee]

13. That is tough. I don't eat supermarket sushi. Only in my nearby Japanese restaurant

and they have very high standards (I'll say, it costs enough!).

[timeforpeace]

25. You think that's all caught in the USA as per your title?

[CTyankee]

28. Not sure. I will ask next time I go there. nt

[demosincebirth]

5. Doesn't bother me. I only eat fish, maybe, once a week.

[grasswire]

6. yes -- for the sake of the U.S. fishermen

I don't eat fish caught elsewhere.

Of course this means that I never get to eat shrimp except for the baby ones caught in Pacific Northwest. I support American shrimpers by not buying those from other places.

I get salmon (if I want it) and dungeness crab and halibut (if I can afford it) and a few other things. I'm only eighty miles from the ocean but the supermarkets do not carry what I would call really fresh fish. I'm very picky about it.

[here_is_to_hope]

14. We live close to

the water here (Oregon) and once a week, go out and get some Bay crab.
Cost about 6.00 for the trip including bait. We drop traps of the docks and in two or three hours, have enough for three days of dinner/lunch.
I fish locally too but the water is suspect...like I suspect there is a lot of sewage and runoff I should avoid.
We get Salmon but I don't care for it baked, smoked however...mmmm...

[Codeine]

9. Being frightened of a very minor risk

is rather silly. Fish have always had the potential to sicken consumers if improperly handled, regardless of where they are caught. Same with poultry.

You'll live.

[slampoet]

12. It's pretty quaint that you name only saltwater fish. Where is the ocean that is all inside the USA?

[CTyankee]

19. I eat freshwater fish every summer when I go to Door County, WI.

Whitefish and pike are my favorites and I go to restaurants that get fresh caught lake fish locally. It's fine there but in general I prefer saltwater fish because after living near the ocean I really love it and I know how to best cook it (after all these years).

[bigwillq]

15. I don't eat fish.

I dislike seafood.

[farmout rightarm]

22. I wish more people were like you, it would be more affordable.

:D

[itsrobert]

16. I heard USA fish swim in the same water they poop in

They also eat in the same water. Is this true?

[timeforpeace]

26. You can say that again.

[itsrobert]

17. I heard USA fish swim in the same water they poop in

They also eat in the same water. Is this true?

[Uben]

18. I only eat fish I catch!

....except for salmon. I catch a lot of fish (live at a lake). I love fresh crappie fillets and my freezer is packed. I keep friends and relatives supplied, too. With our season starting in April, I still have a couple of hundred fillets, so we are gonna have a fish fry! Ever hear of microwaved fish? I swear it is the flakiest you'll eat and it's not fried so its good to keep cholesterol down,too.

[farmout rightarm]

20. I'm pretty sure shrimp from Thailand or Taiwan are safer than osyters from the Gulf of Mexico

where the largest sewer pipe in the world (the Mississippi) empties out...

[CTyankee]

23. I won't eat ANY oysters caught south of Wellfleet MA.

I do however eat Prince Edward Island oysters, on the theory that Canada has pretty good food safety laws...

[farmout rightarm]

41. Actually I do occasionally get down to Apalachicola and have some from there

there's some risk I understand but then I ride motorcycles and fly experimental planes too. :-)

[Blue_In_AK]

21. I only eat fish caught in Alaska,

usually by us or by my brother who lives in Homer and has a boat -- salmon and halibut.

[Codeine]

27. So nothing outside territorial waters?

Nothing caught past the three-mile or twelve-mile (whichever the heck it is) line off the shore?

[CTyankee]

30. I don't know. I will check. I have a really good contact at Legal Seafoods in

Boston. Their fish is topnotch and food safety almost a religion to them. They have a fish market located in Boston but I can't drive all the way there from CT just to get my fresh lobstah...

[Cleita]

29. USA fish is often polluted by chemical waste.

I bought a piece of fresh cod for my kitty once at a fish shop on the SM pier. The cat wouldn't eat it. I left it on his plate overnight thinking he just wasn't hungry. I got up in the middle of the night to get a glass of water and before I had a chance to turn the kitchen light I saw a green glob on the floor glowing in the dark. It was the fish. No wonder he wouldn't eat it. I went and did some research and the result is that the coast of southern California at that time was so polluted you took your chances eating what came out of there. There was a time that you could eat fish from different places in the ocean that were still pristine but it seems those days are gone with over fishing and other bad maritime practices much of it by our navy to be considered safe except maybe what is caught in the ocean near the Arctic Circle. However, since much of our fish supply is still tainted with mercury poisoning and other pollutants, I have pretty much stopped eating it altogether.

[CTyankee]

31. Ugh. If I were you I would buy some frozen fish caught on the Atlantic seaboard.

Even tho frozen fish is not as good, it is really hard to get good fresh fish...

[Cleita]

35. I try to get Islandic or something from way up north, but it's really hard

to get nowadays because all the fishing grounds have been almost fished out.

[Codeine]

33. I really do not believe your fish glowed in the dark.

Seriously, this is not The Simpsons.

[Cleita]

34. I don't care what you believe. I know what I saw. n/t

[farmout rightarm]

42. LOL! +1

:rofl:

[Fla_Democrat]

32. I only eat fish I catch myself

so, yes. :thumbsup:

[Cleita]

36. Good idea, but also make sure that there isn't some mining operation or

waste dumping up stream in the stream you fish in. If in the ocean, look for the same possibilities of pollution. I believe that there are labs that would test your catch for mercury and other contaminants.

[virgogal]

38. Don't know----I eat out a lot,order fish a lot,and never ask. Maybe

I should start checking that out.

[Quantess]

40. Yes. However, I will NOT eat seafood farm-raised in China.