A notable concern among consumers is the presence of mercury in the fish they eat.
If you buy your fish in a country, such as Canada and USA, that conducts a vigilant monitoring of fish landings, you can be less concerned about the presence of mercury. Just remember, mercury is absorbed by the fish from what they eat. The lower (vegetarians) the fish is in the food chain, the more miniscule is the chance of ingesting traces of mercury. The higher the fish (predatory) is in the food chain, there is an increased chance of accummulating traces of mercury. At the top of the food chain are big fishes that eat whole seals, whole salmons...
The widely popular yellow fin tuna, a.k.a., AHI tuna is a pelagic fish, almost surface water level dweller and preys on schools of herrings and other small pelagic fishes (which come from the lower part of the food chain). So any concern for mercury here? You decide.
Helen Rennie blogs a very clear assurance about your being better off eating fish, getting all the healthy benefits of seafood and setting aside fears about "Mercury in Fish".
How would one know if a fish is on the lower end of the food chain? Observe the size of the mouth: nibblers (tilapia, milkfish, siganids) are almost vegetarian. The red snapper, pacific halibut, salmon and mahi-mahi (dolphin fish/dorado) have bigger mouth but they still pale in comparison to that of a lingcod or shark. The mouth size is an indication of what kind of food the fish can eat.
In the following pictures: assorted fishes, tilapia, red snapper and the lingcod. Notice how the mouths differ in size indicating their position in the food chain.
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