Tilapia: Your thoughts on this CONTROVERSIAL fish

[Parker]

No not professionally. But I eat a lot of fish and there are risks associated with eating fish. Toxins are “poisons” and they can be a bit of everything but notably mercury and PCBs and sewage and industrial chemicals. Haven’t you seen people fishing in certain waters and said to yourself, “I certainly would not eat that fish.” There are lots of online resources as well as various government entities issue reports, but there is built in pressure to sugar coat some aspects of this because of the commercial implications. Not to be exhaustive but here are some examples:

Quite toxic (often the larger, long living fish that are wild caught)
Swordfish
Orange roughy
Lots of kinds of tuna
Turbot (Atlantic halibut)
Grouper
Halibut
Mahi mahi
Tilefish
Bluefish
Sea bass
Farmed salmon (always eat wild salmon)
Farmed shrimp from Asia, for example
Carp
Lake trout

In between (pretty good)
Cod
Pollack
Whiting
Haddock
Ocean perch

Good (often smaller fish)
Farmed muscles
Farmed oysters (usually)
Scallops
US tilapia
US farmed rainbow trout
US farmed catfish
Sardines
Herring
Smaller mackerel (usually, but not always)
Arctic char
Wild salmon

Fish are very local to various parts of the world. The above tends to be a US perspective.
No, I don’t know actual “acceptable” levels of toxins but often a government entity will say a pregnant woman should not eat ANY of the fish on the bad list and regular people should only eat the bad ones once or twice a month. But that can get tricky because you might eat swordfish twice a month and forget and eat orange roughy twice that same month. I tend to think the warnings are probably overly alarmist so I just have the bad ones (some of which I love) as a special treat and then eat others that I love like scallops or Arctic char or haddock or herring or muscles all the time.

Main "toxin" would most likely be methyl mercury.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury

OP needs to call it a day and go to Cracker Barrel for Fish Fry Fridays for the farm raised catfish.

[mphgrove]

Main "toxin" would most likely be methyl mercury.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury

OP needs to call it a day and go to Cracker Barrel for Fish Fry Fridays for the farm raised catfish.

Oh great, fine on the toxins but drenched in fat (but great comfort food, drooling here)

[Al Doggity]

My goal when eating fish is to get omega 3's or else why would you eat it? Especially tilapia, farm raised fish have little to no omega 3's, so why not just eat chicken or turkey? To me chicken or turkey taste better and are cheaper. If you want to buy wild caught fish they are damn expensive, so at the end of the day, you're better off eating chicken, beef, turkey, eggs, and supplementing with fish oil.

To  consume food?    Even if you're not getting omega-3s, it's still a low-fat, high protein food source. Personally, I like the taste, I've been trying to stick to veg/pesc and fish is way easier to prepare than any other meat. I can put some rice in the instantpot, poach some fish, chop some cilantro with a little olive oil and lime  and have a great meal in 15 minutes. Minimum cleanup. The messiest thing is the cilantro on the chopping board. Fish has been a staple of diets around the world for thousands of years. If you don't like fish, then of course don't eat it, but getting omega-3s is not the main reason most people eat fish.

[Princess L]

Any seafood farmed or otherwise from southeast Asia is DISGUSTING.    They live in raw sewage contaminated waters, are fed chicken and pig feces along with steady diet of antibiotics and growth hormones.  Most fish are produced on the Mekong River in aquaculture facilities. The Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, and there is no regulation to filter the water used in those facilities.  They also often add formaldehyde to make the fish last longer.





http://www.bbncommunity.com/imported-chinese-tilapia-are-raised-on-feces/

[Irongrip400]

Al, talk to me about why tilapia are considered bad. Don't make me use google. 

[Parker]

Any seafood farmed or otherwise from southeast Asia is DISGUSTING.    They live in raw sewage contaminated waters, are fed chicken and pig feces along with steady diet of antibiotics and growth hormones.  Most fish are produced on the Mekong River in aquaculture facilities. The Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, and there is no regulation to filter the water used in those facilities.  They also often add formaldehyde to make the fish last longer.





http://www.bbncommunity.com/imported-chinese-tilapia-are-raised-on-feces/

Mekong River is where The Giants live.

[/youtube]

Oh great, fine on the toxins but drenched in fat (but great comfort food, drooling here)

Think of the succulent taste.

[tres_taco_combo]

I stay away from that stuff, any farm raised fish (which is the tilapia from Walmart) the fats you are getting from that fish is omega 6 not omega 3, because those fish aren't eating algae and their natural diet, so you're better off eating chicken and it's cheaper, and just go buy a good quality fish oil and supplement with that everyday.

mnd blown here - sounds reasonable - crazy there is that much variance from walmart to fresh raised

[Go 4 It]

To  consume food?    Even if you're not getting omega-3s, it's still a low-fat, high protein food source. Personally, I like the taste, I've been trying to stick to veg/pesc and fish is way easier to prepare than any other meat. I can put some rice in the instantpot, poach some fish, chop some cilantro with a little olive oil and lime  and have a great meal in 15 minutes. Minimum cleanup. The messiest thing is the cilantro on the chopping board. Fish has been a staple of diets around the world for thousands of years. If you don't like fish, then of course don't eat it, but getting omega-3s is not the main reason most people eat fish.

Yes its still a source of protein, but most fish even farmed is way more expensive per gram of protein compared to chicken or turkey, so you'll get more bang for your buck. Plus most fish smell up your entire house when cooking them. So for me if I eat fish it's usually tuna, if I'm on the ship, I'll eat some salmon because it's free, but of course its farmed raised and probably injected with orange dye to make it look fresher then it really is.

mnd blown here - sounds reasonable - crazy there is that much variance from walmart to fresh raised

Yeah, crazy stuff dude, also have to be weary of the fish oil you take because it can be low quality and have toxins in it as well like mercury and various other metals. Our food supply is fucked on all spectrums.

[Desolate]

Great topic.

Useful.

I don't want to change the subject away from Tilapia, but I am back to two cans of tuna a week.

Too much?

Also, what are the dangers with omega 6?

[IRON CROSS]

No not professionally. But I eat a lot of fish and there are risks associated with eating fish. Toxins are “poisons” and they can be a bit of everything but notably mercury and PCBs and sewage and industrial chemicals. Haven’t you seen people fishing in certain waters and said to yourself, “I certainly would not eat that fish.” There are lots of online resources as well as various government entities issue reports, but there is built in pressure to sugar coat some aspects of this because of the commercial implications. Not to be exhaustive but here are some examples:

Quite toxic (often the larger, long living fish that are wild caught)
Swordfish
Orange roughy
Lots of kinds of tuna
Turbot (Atlantic halibut)
Grouper
Halibut
Mahi mahi
Tilefish
Bluefish
Sea bass
Farmed salmon (always eat wild salmon)
Farmed shrimp from Asia, for example
Carp
Lake trout

In between (pretty good)
Cod
Pollack
Whiting
Haddock
Ocean perch

Good (often smaller fish)
Farmed muscles
Farmed oysters (usually)
Scallops
US tilapia
US farmed rainbow trout
US farmed catfish
Sardines
Herring
Smaller mackerel (usually, but not always)
Arctic char
Wild salmon

Fish are very local to various parts of the world. The above tends to be a US perspective.
No, I don’t know actual “acceptable” levels of toxins but often a government entity will say a pregnant woman should not eat ANY of the fish on the bad list and regular people should only eat the bad ones once or twice a month. But that can get tricky because you might eat swordfish twice a month and forget and eat orange roughy twice that same month. I tend to think the warnings are probably overly alarmist so I just have the bad ones (some of which I love) as a special treat and then eat others that I love like scallops or Arctic char or haddock or herring or muscles all the time.

Farmed fish  = fake fish fed with corn ,soy ..........real fish eats another fish

[IRON CROSS]

Canned fish is totally tasteless , cats & dogs food.

[Bindare_Dundat]

Been on a mostly vegetarian/ pescatarian type diet for past few months. In previous years, I just avoided tilapia because of all the controversies surrounding it (I am fine with the taste). With whole foods new prices, their "responsibly raised" tilapia is actually comparable to canned albacore tuna now, so I've just been picking it up a few times a week.

I was at another grocery store over the weekend and was surprised at how much cheaper asian raised tilapia is. It has a terrible reputation, but even in nyc it was less than $5/lb. That is cheaper than decent canned tuna and also cheaper than medium quality ground beef at most places. There are a lot of strong opinions about asian raised fish. I've been doing some research, and I think I might be leaning into the camp that thinks it's probably not that bad.

What's your thoughts, getblurg? Am I an idiot? Probably so, but specifically, in regards to my thoughts on ingesting poison chinese fish?

it's a disgusting bottom dwelling shit eating fish. taste like crap too. Stay away from that garbage. If you cant afford more expensive fish you csn always try sardines.

It's one of the only fish I can't eat without destroying it with  some other flavoring.  It's absolutely horrible if you have functioning tastebuds. Did I mention they get fed shit?

[IRON CROSS]

Any seafood farmed or otherwise from southeast Asia is DISGUSTING.    They live in raw sewage contaminated waters, are fed chicken and pig feces along with steady diet of antibiotics and growth hormones.  Most fish are produced on the Mekong River in aquaculture facilities. The Mekong River is one of the most polluted rivers in the world, and there is no regulation to filter the water used in those facilities.  They also often add formaldehyde to make the fish last longer.





http://www.bbncommunity.com/imported-chinese-tilapia-are-raised-on-feces/

Agree , pets food 

[kreator]

Sardines and mackerel, cheap,  quality, wild fish, look no further ... if i was on a really low budget i’d eat sardines everyday ... the taste and smell is what keeps me from practising this

[Thin Lizzy]

It’s a cheap source of protein for broke losers.  Low-end salad bars always have it as their fish of choice.

it's a disgusting bottom dwelling shit eating fish. taste like crap too. Stay away from that garbage. If you cant afford more expensive fish you csn always try sardines.

It's one of the only fish I can't eat without destroying it with  some other flavoring.  It's absolutely horrible if you have functioning tastebuds. Did I mention they get fed shit?

This get bigger knows what he’s talking about.

[mphgrove]

Farmed fish   = fake fish fed with corn ,soy ..........real fish eats another fish

I disagree. You have to go a level deeper. It’s a mixed bag. Many wild caught fish that live a long time build up toxins over time. The prime example would be swordfish. However, wild salmon from the Pacific is toxin fee. I don’t know why.

Many fish farms are disgusting (see Mekong photos above; also farmed salmon in Atlantic). But many others get VERY high marks from impartial experts:
Arctic char in Greenland
Fish farms in US (catfish, tilapia)
Prince Edward Island shellfish
Possibly Mediteranean sea bass (Bronzino) in Spain, Greece (but not positive).

Small wild fish are generally fine: sardines, herring, most mackerel

[Rambone]

With so many other better tasting proteins on the planet available, why resort to eating tilapia?

[mphgrove]

With so many other better tasting proteins on the planet available, why resort to eating tilapia?

I think because it’s relatively cheap and tasteless. Lots of Midwesterners don’t really like fish so they prefer a tasteless fish. Also, it IS good for contest prep and your wife doesn’t complain about kitchen smell as much as with other fish.

[Bindare_Dundat]

Sardines and mackerel, cheap,  quality, wild fish, look no further ... if i was on a really low budget i’d eat sardines everyday ... the taste and smell is what keeps me from practising this

agreed. although i personally don't care when a halitosis breathing asshat that smokes tells me the fish sticks. I just warn people before I crack the can open. Most of the time no one gives a fuck and if anything I start seeing more guys bring sardines to work. lol

It's cheap, tastes great and is great for ya.

[mphgrove]

agreed. although i personally don't care when a halitosis breathing asshat that smokes tells me the fish sticks. I just warn people before I crack the can open. Most of the time no one gives a fuck and if anything I start seeing more guys bring sardines to work. lol

It's cheap, tastes great and is great for ya.

Heart will stay in good shape if you eat sardines every day.

[residue]

With so many other better tasting proteins on the planet available, why resort to eating tilapia?

its a blank canvas

[oldtimer1]

There is so much fraud with fish. Sea Bass is amazing and expensive. They say many restaurants deceive by using cheaper fish constantly when someone asks for sea bass. Anything coming from Asia is suspect and sellers know this. Many put a USA tag on their Asian fish to sell. Costco you can trust most of the time. One of the few places you can get real extra virgin olive oil instead of cheap counterfeit oil.

[Al Doggity]

agreed. although i personally don't care when a halitosis breathing asshat that smokes tells me the fish sticks. I just warn people before I crack the can open. Most of the time no one gives a fuck and if anything I start seeing more guys bring sardines to work. lol

It's cheap, tastes great and is great for ya.

LOL In your last post, you responded to me by saying that tilapia is sooo awful tasting, then suggested sardines. I was going to type that I don't think I've ever heard anyone say that sardines were a better taste alternative  than tilapia, but then before  I can even do that you agree with another poster that they are nasty and stink? I'm not even  a sardine snob, I like them and started a thread on here a while ago about how more people should try them for protein diets.

Anyway, different people have different tastes. I like the taste of tilapia. It has a mild taste, definitely not something to get worked up about. It has no smell when poaching, it has a rich texture. Granted, you were also talking about some of the other, more controversial aspects of tilapia and that's why I started this thread. I think a lot of that stuff may be simplified and overblown.

There's a lot in this thread that I want to respond to, but I'm a little busy at work right now, so I'll try to do some in-depth responses after lunch. I just wanted to get this response up real quick.  

[The Keto Kid]

Heart will stay in good shape if you eat sardines every day.

Be careful on high levels of arsenic.

[Al Doggity]

Yes its still a source of protein, but most fish even farmed is way more expensive per gram of protein compared to chicken or turkey, so you'll get more bang for your buck. Plus most fish smell up your entire house when cooking them. So for me if I eat fish it's usually tuna, if I'm on the ship, I'll eat some salmon because it's free, but of course its farmed raised and probably injected with orange dye to make it look fresher then it really is.

In my opening post, I specifically talk about price. "Organic" tilapia at whole foods is $8/lb. A 5 oz can of bumblebee solid albacore tuna is about $3 on average, which would mean it's roughly $10/lb. Whole foods tilapia is on the higher end of the price and quality scale. Like I said in that first post, asian tilapia was even less.  I've said it several times in this thread, but I've never had any problem with tilapia smelling up anything. It has very little smell out of its packaging and it has very little smell when you poach it. I actually think canned tuna a more pronounced smell than tilapia while poaching.

Like I said, you can eat whatever you want. I'm not trying to convince you otherwise, but the problems you have with tilapia either aren't things I've experienced or that would be of concern to me.