Reeling in the right fish for your palette

If pork is the other white meat, then fish is the other other white meat.

But, thanks to trendy sushi restaurants and health-conscious consumers, fish has emerged from the shadow of its often barbecued cousin to grace the tables and trays of many UCLA students.

“There is such an organic subculture at UCLA. A lot of people are staying away from red meat now, so fish makes a great alternative,” said Mai Nguyen, a fourth-year biology student.

Just as organic foods and free-range chicken are becoming increasingly popular food trends, fish has become a source of protein for those attempting to maintain healthy diets.

Nguyen also pointed to UCLA’s large population of Asian American students as one of the reasons that fish and sushi are popular meals at so many Westwood restaurants.

Campus residents can enjoy sushi in Hedrick’s residential restaurant every Thursday afternoon for lunch, and Tsunami, an Associated Students UCLA-operated restaurant, offers a variety of seafood options. Even Kerckhoff Coffeehouse sells prepackaged sushi along with its selections of organic salads and sandwiches.

Miyagi’s on Sunset, a restaurant that advertises itself as “the biggest sushi restaurant in the world with three floors, six bars, no cover and one awesome time,” is a prime example of how the delicacy often goes hand in hand with trendy nightlife.

Most appealing to many students about Miyagi’s, however, are the prices. Offering all-you-can-eat sushi for $20 on Monday nights, Miyagi’s is a favorite for UCLA students who love sushi but are turned off by its often-high price tag.

With significantly less cholesterol and fat than red meat, seafood can be an ideal source of protein, according to Christian Roberts, a professor of physiological science.

Roberts teaches a course on diet and exercise and tells his students each quarter about the health benefits of consuming fish regularly.

“The main benefit would be the omega-3 fatty acids found primarily in tuna, herring and mackerel. It’s a great source of protein and low in saturated fat,” Roberts said.

“They have also been shown in studies to reduce the risk of heart disease,” he added.

But, despite the advantages of consuming fish, Roberts warns that over-consumption of certain large fish such as shark could actually have an adverse effect on one’s health.

“Pollution can get into the groundwater in the form of mercury. The small fish eat that and are then eaten by the bigger fish. They accumulate mercury that way,” said Roberts.

While mercury levels are not a problem in the kinds of fish that most students consume, Roberts said swordfish and some species of tuna or salmon could contain dangerous levels of mercury if consumed too often.

“Mercury is a metal that increases the production of free radicals in the body, and they can damage the body’s tissues,” Roberts said.

But industry officials have disagreed about the potential mercury toxicity from consuming fish.

The National Fisheries Institute, an advocacy organization for the seafood industry, has published challenges made to claims about mercury toxicity reported by The New York Times, USA Today and the Houston Chronicle.

The institute points out in a press release that there have been no reported cases of mercury toxicity attributed to seafood consumption and cites reports that average levels of mercury are not connected with negative health effects.

In order to help consumers understand more about fish-related choices, the Monterey Bay Aquarium maintains a Web site called Seafood Watch, which not only explains which fish have high mercury levels but also offers information about which kinds of fish are environmentally safe to consume.

The Web site encourages the consumption of halibut caught in the Pacific Ocean but cautions against encouraging Atlantic halibut fishing.

Flatfish and Atlantic cod have been overfished, the site warns, and fishermen are now fishing the last 10 percent of their population.

The site is designed to help consumers who are environmentally sensitive make good choices about the kinds of fish they consume and become actively involved in encouraging responsible, sustainable fishing.

Seafood Watch discourages the consumption of shellfish caught by dredging ““ a method in which fishermen drag nets along the ocean floor ““ because it damages the ecology of the sea floor and results in the unintentional capture of some marine mammals.

But, harpooning and hook-and-line fishing are lauded as environmentally friendly ways of procuring seafood because they do not harm any other ocean life in the process.

While it may be difficult to inquire at restaurants about the source of the fish being served, the site offers recipe substitutions for the kinds of fish they discourage eating for those who cook fish at home.