Fish as food

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Channa striata stuffed with Thai herbs
Fish for sale in baskets at the Dubai Fish Market

Many species of fish are caught by humans and consumed as food in virtually all regions around the world. Fish has been an important dietary source of protein and other nutrients.

The English language does not have a special

molluscs, crustaceans, and echinoderms; more expansively, seafood covers both fish and other marine life used as food.[1]

Since 1961, the average annual increase in global apparent food fish consumption (3.2 percent) has outpaced

United States of America together accounted for 47 percent of the world's total food fish consumption in 1961, but only about 20 percent in 2015. Of the global total of 149 million tonnes in 2015, Asia consumed more than two-thirds (106 million tonnes at 24.0 kg per capita).[2] Oceania and Africa consumed the lowest share. The shift is the result of structural changes in the sector and in particular the growing role of Asian countries in fish production, as well as a significant gap between the economic growth rates of the world's more mature fish markets and those of many increasingly important emerging markets around the world, particularly in Asia.[2]

Species

Over 32,000 species of fish have been described,[3] making them the most diverse group of vertebrates. In addition, there are many species of shellfish. However, only a small number of species are commonly eaten by humans.[citation needed]

Common species of fish and shellfish used for food[4]
Mild flavour Moderate flavour Full flavour
Delicate
texture
Lake Victoria perch, yellow perch, European oyster, sea urchin
Atlantic mackerel, sardines
Medium
texture
Sablefish, Atlantic salmon, coho salmon, skate, dungeness crab, king crab, blue mussel, greenshell mussel, pink shrimp Escolar, chinook salmon, chum salmon, American shad
Firm
texture
Pacific white shrimp, grey triggerfish, squid
sea scallop, rock shrimp

Preparation

Fish can be prepared in a variety of ways. It can be served uncooked (

poaching (e.g., court-bouillon) or steaming. Many of the preservation techniques used in different cultures have since become unnecessary but are still performed for their resulting taste and texture when consumed.[citation needed
]

The British historian William Radcliffe wrote in Fishing from the Earliest Times:

"The

Emperor Domitian (Juvenal, IV.) ordered a special sitting of the Senate to deliberate and advise on a matter of such grave State importance as the best method of cooking a turbot."[5]

Nutritional value

Comparison of nutrients in 100 g of whitefish or oily fish
Nutrient Whitefish
Alaska pollock[6]
Oily fish
Atlantic herring[7]
Halibut fillet (a whitefish) on top of a salmon fillet (an oily fish)
Energy (kcal) 111 203
Protein (g) 23 23
Fat (g) 1 12
Cholesterol (mg) 86 77
Vitamin B-12 (μg) 4 13
Phosphorus (mg) 267 303
Selenium (μg) 44 47
Omega-3 (mg) 509 2014

Globally, fish and fish products provide an average of only about 34 calories per capita per day. However, more than as an energy source, the dietary contribution of fish is significant in terms of high-quality, easily digested animal proteins and especially in fighting micronutrient deficiencies.[2] A portion of 150g of fish provides about 50 to 60 percent of an adult's daily protein requirement. Fish proteins are essential in the diet of some densely populated countries where the total protein intake is low, and are particularly important in diets in small island developing States (SIDS).[2]

Intermediate Technology Publications wrote in 1992 that "Fish provides a good source of high quality protein and contains many vitamins and minerals. It may be classed as either whitefish, oily fish, or shellfish. Whitefish, such as haddock and seer, contain very little fat (usually less than 1%) whereas oily fish, such as sardines, contain between 10–25%. The latter, as a result of its high fat content, contain a range of fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) and essential fatty acids, all of which are vital for the healthy functioning of the body."[8]

Health benefits

Eating oily fish containing long-chain omega-3 fatty acids may reduce systemic inflammation and lower the risk of cardiovascular disease.[9][10] Eating about 140 grams (4.9 oz) of oily fish rich in omega-3 fatty acids once per week is a recommended consumption amount.[9][10] Increasing intake of omega-3 fatty acids may slightly reduce the risk of a fatal heart attack,[10] but likely has little effect on the overall number of deaths from cardiovascular disease.[11]

Health hazards

Fish bone is the most common food-related foreign body to cause airway obstruction. Choking on fish was responsible for about 4,500 reported accidents in the United Kingdom in 1998.[12]

Allergens

A

urticaria to angioedema and distributive shock. Allergic reactions can result from ingesting seafood, or by breathing in vapours from preparing or cooking seafood.[14] The most severe allergic reaction is anaphylaxis, a medical emergency requiring immediate attention and is treated urgently with epinephrine.[15]

Biotoxins

A specially prepared dish of the poisonous blowfish fugu, Japan

Some species of fish, notably the

Ciguatera poisoning can occur from eating larger fish from warm tropical waters, such as sea bass, grouper, barracuda and red snapper.[16] Scombroid poisoning can result from eating large oily fish which have sat around for too long before being refrigerated or frozen. This includes scombroids such as tuna and mackerel, but can also include non-scombroids such as mahi-mahi and amberjack.[16] The poison is often odourless and tasteless.[17]

Many fish eat

biotoxins, which are defensive substances against predators. Biotoxins accumulated in fish/shellfish include brevetoxins, okadaic acid, saxitoxins, ciguatoxin and domoic acid. Except for ciguatoxine, high levels of these toxins are only found in shellfish. Both domoic acid and ciguatoxine can be deadly to humans; the others will only cause diarrhea, dizziness and a (temporary) feeling of claustrophobia.[18][19]

anchovies can also concentrate toxins such as domoic acid.[21]
If suspected, medical attention should be sought.

Fish and Shellfish poisoning
Poisoning type Symptoms Duration Toxin Antidote Sources
Fish
Ciguatera
Nausea, vomiting and diarrhea, usually followed by headaches, muscle aches, paresthesia, numbness, ataxia, vertigo, and hallucinations. Weeks to years Ciguatoxin and similar: maitotoxin, scaritoxin and palytoxin None known [17][22]
Scombroid
food
poisoning
Skin flushing, throbbing headache, oral burning, abdominal cramps, nausea, diarrhea, palpitations, sense of unease, and, rarely, collapse or loss of vision. Symptoms occur usually within 10–30 minutes of ingesting spoiled fish. Usually four to six hours Histamine, possibly others Oral anti-histamines [22][23]
Haff disease
acute kidney failure
) within 24 hours after consuming fish
A toxic cause is suspected but has not been proven None known [24]
Ichthyo-
allyeinotoxism
Vivid auditory and visual hallucinations similar in some aspects to LSD. Can last for several days [25]
Shellfish Amnesic Permanent
short-term memory loss and brain damage
Fatal in severe cases Domoic acid, which acts as a neurotoxin None known [22]
Diarrheal
Diarrhea and possibly nausea, vomiting and cramps. Symptoms usually set in within half an hour and last about a day Okadaic acid, which inhibits intestinal cellular de-phosphorylation. [26]
Neurotoxic Vomiting and nausea and a variety of neurological symptoms such as slurred speech. Not fatal though it may require hospitalization. Brevetoxins or brevetoxin analogs [27][28]
Paralytic Includes nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and tingling or burning sensations. Other symptoms also possible. Occasionally fatal Principal toxin saxitoxin 4-Aminopyridine has been used in non-human animals.[29][30][31] [32]

The toxins responsible for most shellfish and fish poisonings, including ciguatera and scombroid poisoning, are heat-resistant to the point where conventional cooking methods do not eliminate them.[17]

Mercury and other toxic metals

Fish products, especially those from

tetraethyl lead can be extremely toxic.[33]

Mercury/omega-3 levels[34]
Mercury level Low
< 0.04 ppm
Medium
0.04–0.40 ppm
High
> 0.40 ppm
Omega-3
High
> 1.0%
salmon
sardine
Atlantic mackerel
flatfish
halibut
herring
Spanish mackerel
swordfish
tilefish
Medium
0.4–1.0%
pollock hoki
tuna
king mackerel
shark
Low
< 0.4%
catfish
shrimp
cod
snapper
tuna canned light
grouper
orange roughy

According to the

US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern for most people.[41]
However, certain seafood contains sufficient mercury to harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. The FDA makes three recommendations for child-bearing women and young children:

  1. Do not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
  2. Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and
    canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish. Another commonly eaten fish, albacore
    ("white tuna") has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
  3. Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but do not consume any other fish during that week.

These recommendations are also advised when feeding fish and shellfish to young children, but in smaller portions.[41]

Mislabelling

When the ocean conservation organization Oceana examined over 1,200 seafood samples of seafood sold in the U.S. between 2010 and 2012, they found one-third were mislabelled. The highest rate of mislabelling occurred with snapper at 87 percent, followed by tuna at 57 percent.[42]

Persistent organic pollutants

If fish and shellfish inhabit polluted waters, they can accumulate other toxic chemicals, particularly fat-soluble pollutants containing chlorine or bromine, dioxins or PCBs.

Parasites

Differential symptoms of parasite infections by raw fish. All have gastrointestinal, but otherwise distinct, symptoms.[43][44][45][46]

freezers may not be cold enough.[47][48]

Historically, fish that live all or part of their lives in

farm-raised salmon did not have any roundworm larvae.[49]

Parasite infection from raw fish is rare in the

ikura (roe), but these foods are frozen overnight prior to eating to prevent infections from parasites, particularly Anisakis.[citation needed
]

Pescetarianism

Hawaiian food: Seared ahi and wasabi beurre blanc sauce

The neologism "pescetarian" covers those who eat fish and other seafood, but not mammals and birds.[50]

A 1999 metastudy combined data from five studies from western countries. The metastudy reported mortality ratios, where lower numbers indicated fewer deaths, for pescetarians to be 0.82, vegetarians to be 0.84, and occasional meat eaters to be 0.84. Regular meat eaters and vegans shared the highest mortality ratio of 1.00. However, the "lower mortality was due largely to the relatively low prevalence of smoking in these [vegetarian] cohorts".[51]

Since fish is animal flesh, the Vegetarian Society has stated that vegetarian diets cannot contain fish.[52]

In religion

Odia cuisines in the eastern Indian subcontinent.
A plate of smoked salmon

Religious rites and rituals regarding food also tend to classify the birds of the air and the fish of the sea separately from land-bound mammals.

parve, neither meat nor a dairy food. (The preceding portion refers only to the halakha of Ashkenazi Jews; Sephardic Jews do not mix fish with dairy.)[citation needed
]

Fasting in Catholicism.) In Eastern Orthodoxy, fish is permitted on some fast days when other meat is forbidden, but stricter fast days also prohibit fish with spines, while permitting invertebrate seafood such as shrimp and oysters, considering them "fish without blood".[citation needed
]

Some

Muslim (halal) practice also treats fish differently from other animal foods, as it can be eaten.[citation needed
]

Environmental impact of fish consumption

Taboos on eating fish

Among the Somali people, most clans have a taboo against the consumption of fish, and do not intermarry with the few occupational clans that do eat it.[54][55]

There are taboos on eating fish among many upland pastoralists and agriculturalists (and even some coastal peoples) inhabiting parts of southeastern Egypt, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, and northern Tanzania. This is sometimes referred to as the "Cushitic fish-taboo", as Cushitic speakers are believed to have been responsible for the introduction of fish avoidance to East Africa, though not all Cushitic groups avoid fish. The zone of the fish taboo roughly coincides with the area where Cushitic languages are spoken, and as a general rule, speakers of Nilo-Saharan and Semitic languages do not have this taboo, and indeed many are watermen.[55][56] The few Bantu and Nilotic groups in East Africa that do practice fish avoidance also reside in areas where Cushites appear to have lived in earlier times. Within East Africa, the fish taboo is found no further than Tanzania. This is attributed to the local presence of the tsetse fly and in areas beyond, which likely acted as a barrier to further southern migrations by wandering pastoralists, the principal fish-avoiders. Zambia and Mozambique's Bantus were therefore spared subjugation by pastoral groups, and they consequently nearly all consume fish.[55]

There is also another center of fish avoidance in Southern Africa, among mainly Bantu speakers. It is not clear whether this disinclination developed independently or whether it was introduced. It is certain, however, that no avoidance of fish occurs among southern Africa's earliest inhabitants, the Khoisan. Nevertheless, since the Bantu of southern Africa also share various cultural traits with the pastoralists further north in East Africa, it is believed that, at an unknown date, the taboo against the consumption of fish was similarly introduced from East Africa by cattle-herding peoples who somehow managed to get their livestock past the aforementioned tsetse fly endemic regions.[55]

Certain species of fish are also forbidden in Judaism such as the freshwater eel (Anguillidae) and all species of catfish. Although they live in water, they appear to have no fins or scales (except under a microscope) (see Leviticus 11:10–13[57]). Sunni Muslim laws are more flexible in this and catfish and shark are generally seen as halal as they are special types of fish. Eel is generally considered permissible in the four Sunni madh'hab, but the Ja'fari jurisprudence followed by most Shia Muslims forbids it.[58][59][60]

Many tribes of the

waterfowl.[61]

Dishes

See also

References

  1. ^ "Why is fish not considered as meat?". Seasoned Advice. Retrieved 2023-06-01.
  2. ^ a b c d e f In brief, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture, 2018 (PDF). FAO. 2018.
  3. ^ FishBase: June 2012 update. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
  4. .
  5. ^ Juvenal: The Satires Satire IV: Mock Epic, pages 25–29. Translated by A. S. Kline 2011.
  6. ^ United States Department of Agriculture (January 4, 2019). "Nutrient data for 15067, Fish, pollock, Alaska, cooked, dry heat (may contain additives to retain moisture)". FoodData Central. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  7. ^ United States Department of Agriculture (January 4, 2019). "Nutrient data for 15040, Fish, herring, Atlantic, cooked, dry heat". FoodData Central. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  8. .
  9. ^ a b "Fish and shellfish". UK National Health Service. 2018-04-27. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  10. ^ a b c "Omega-3 in fish: How eating fish helps your heart". Mayo Clinic. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
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  12. ^ "Accident Statistics : 1998 – Home and leisure accident report Summary of 1998 data p.16 Department of Trade and Industry (UK)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  13. ^ National Institutes of Health, NIAID Allergy Statistics 2005 https://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/allergystat.htm
  14. ^ "Seafood* (Fish, Crustaceans and Shellfish) – One of the nine most common food allergens". Canadian Food Inspection Agency. 2009-06-12. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
  15. ^ "National Report of the Expert Panel on Food Allergy Research, NIH-NIAID 2003" (PDF). 2003-06-30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-10-04. Retrieved 2006-08-07.
  16. ^ a b Poisoning – fish and shellfish US National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 21 July 2012.
  17. ^
    S2CID 222017205
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  18. ^ EOS magazine, July–August 2010
  19. ^ "Natuurlijke toxinen in voedingsmiddelen" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-08. Retrieved 2010-10-04.
  20. ^ Domoic Acid Poisoning Archived 2012-02-13 at the Wayback Machine Northwest Fisheries Science Center, NOAA. Retrieved 16 July 2012.
  21. ^
    PMID 10485519. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2012-07-14.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
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  22. PMID 9670438. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-12.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
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  23. .
  24. ^ de Haro, L.; Pommier, P. (2006). "Hallucinatory fish poisoning (ichthyoallyeinotoxism): two case reports from the Western Mediterranean and literature review". Clinical Toxicology. 44 (2): 185–8.
    S2CID 41191477
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  25. .
  26. .
  27. .
  28. .
  29. .
  30. .
  31. PMID 10485519. Archived from the original on 2011-08-11. Retrieved 2008-08-12.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link
    )
  32. .
  33. .
  34. ^ The mercury levels in the table, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from: Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990–2010) U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Accessed 8 January 2012.
  35. ^ "Fish, Levels of Mercury and Omega-3 Fatty Acids". American Heart Association. Archived from the original on July 9, 2010. Retrieved October 6, 2010.
  36. S2CID 6547417
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  37. ^ a b Trophic levels and maximum ages are, unless otherwise indicated, taken from the relevant species pages on Rainer Froese and Daniel Pauly (Eds) (2012) FishBase January 2012 version. Where a group has more than one species, the average of the principal commercial species is used
  38. .
  39. ^ "A bouillabaisse of fascinating facts about fish". NOAA: National Marine Fisheries Service. Retrieved October 22, 2009.
  40. ^ a b "What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish". Cfsan.fda.gov. 2009-09-17. Archived from the original on 2009-05-19. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  41. ^ Warner K, Timme W, Lowell B and Hirshfield M (2013) Oceana Study Reveals Seafood Fraud Nationwide Archived 2021-10-12 at the Wayback Machine Oceana.
  42. ^ For Chlonorchiasis: Public Health Agency of Canada > Clonorchis sinensis – Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) Retrieved on April 14, 2009
  43. ^ For Anisakiasis: WrongDiagnosis: Symptoms of Anisakiasis Retrieved on April 14, 2009
  44. ^ For Diphyllobothrium: MedlinePlus > Diphyllobothriasis Updated by: Arnold L. Lentnek, MD. Retrieved on April 14, 2009
  45. ^ For symptoms of diphyllobothrium due to vitamin B12-deficiency University of Maryland Medical Center > Megaloblastic (Pernicious) Anemia Retrieved on April 14, 2009
  46. ^ "Parasites in Marine Fishes University of California Food Science & Technology Department Sea Grant Extension Program". Seafood.ucdavis.edu. 1990-08-07. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
  47. ^ Vaughn M. Sushi and Sashimi Safety Archived 2008-09-27 at the Wayback Machine
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  49. ^ The Merriam-Webster dictionary dates the origin of the term pescetarian to 1993 and defines it as "one whose diet includes fish but no other meat". Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009. s.v. pescatarian.[Online] Merriam Webster, Inc. Available at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pescatarian [Accessed 17 July 2009]
  50. PMID 10479225
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  51. ^ "The Vegetarian Society, Fact Sheet". Archived from the original on 2018-07-02. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  52. .
  53. ^ Frederick J. Simoons, Northwest Ethiopia: peoples and economy?, (University of Wisconsin Press: 1960), p.158
  54. ^
  55. .
  56. ^ Leviticus 11:10–13
  57. ^ "Sea Food in the Four Madhahib". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  58. ^ "Is Catfish Halal?". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
  59. ^ "Is Shark Meat Halal?". Retrieved 2007-02-16.
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Bibliography

External links