Governments and agencies have been trying to help us choose the most healthy fish to eat, but instead they just seem to be confusing us!
We are advised to eat ‘oily’ fish – which means fish like tuna, herring, wild salmon, mackerel, anchovies and sardines.
Because those are the fish which are high in those beneficial omega three fatty acids.
But we are also told NOT to eat more than two portions of these fish per week. (Or even less for kids and pregnant women).
Why Limit Healthy Oily Fish..?
Because of the pollution that has built up in our oceans.
We have been gradually dumping toxic metals such as mercury in the sea for many years. And sadly these poisonous heavy metals, PCB’s and dioxins have reached a level now where they affect our food supplies.
The bigger the fish, the higher up the food chain it is. Big fish eat smaller fish, who eat even smaller fish etc.
Tuna for example may often come in a very small tin. But Bluefin Tuna grow very fast, and if we weren’t over-fishing them, can easily reach sizes of 400kg. That’s the weight of an adult horse!
And bigger fish = higher up the food chain = greater build up of those toxins.
So What Is The Most Healthy Fish?
The healthiest fish therefore is clearly the one that grows in the cleanest waters.
Most of our fishing is done in areas enclosed by large heavily populated land masses, near major shipping lanes, even near deep sea oil rigs. No wonder the fish are polluted.
Some of the cleanest waters in the world are the Southern Oceans off the coast of New Zealand. It’s 10,000 KM to Africa travelling west from New Zealand, and nearly as far to the East to South America.
And in population terms, there are less people in the whole country than in just one major city in the USA!
That’s why the waters are cleaner.
Which Is Where You’ll Find ‘Hoki’
Hoki is also widely known as New Zealand Whiting.
It has a moist white dense flesh, few bones and is very rich in omega three.
The fishing of hoki is very closely and carefully managed by the New Zealand government to ensure populations are kept sustainable.
Only small fishing vessels are permitted. Those large factory ships, the like of which have crushed other fish populations to critical levels are entirely forbidden.
What If You Can’t Find It Locally?
Hoki is quite widely available, but for obvious reasons is in high demand.
So if you can’t find hoki, but still want the benefits of high levels of omega three and DHA (without the toxic metals!), take a look at the hoki fish oil supplement we use and recommend.
They have a free guide that tells you a lot more about the product and the fish it comes from too.
