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Seafood Facts

Seafood Facts
Seafood includes any type of sea life that is consumed by humans as food. Sea vegetables such as seaweed and algae are also consumed and considered to be a type of seafood. All aquatic life that is edible is considered to be seafood. Seafood such as kelp can also be used as plant fertilizer. Some seafood is harvested to create supplements such as fish oil. Most countries around the world consume some form of seafood, and some types of seafood are only eaten in certain regions of the world as they tend to be part of the cultural cuisine of the area.
Interesting Seafood Facts:
Harvesting seafood for human consumption is believed to date back to the Paleolithic era. Such evidence exists in cave paintings, discarded fish bones, and other archaeological evidence.
Types of seafood include fish, molluscs, crustaceans, other aquatic animals such as reptiles and mammals, and aquatic plants and microphytes.
Once harvested, seafood can be consumed fresh, processed and frozen to be consumed at a later date, dried and salted, canned, or cooked and then frozen.
It is estimated that approximately 14% to 16% of the world's population consume seafood as their primary source of animal protein.
Some fish, such as herring and mackerel, are very high in omega-3 fatty acid, which is important for many human bodily functions.
There have been more than 33,000 species of fish and marine life identified.
Mild flavoured fish include flounder, rainbow trout, basa, crup, black sea bass, pink salmon, Alaska polluck, halibut, grouper, black tiger shrimp, monkfish and American lobster.
Moderate flavoured fish include anchovy, yellow perch, sea urchin, Atlantic salmon, pink shrimp, dogfish, mako shark, and rock shrimp.
Full flavor fish include Atlantic mackerel, Chinook salmon, barracuda, Chilean sea bass, sockeye salmon, and Bluefin tuna.
Some types of seafood contain large amounts of mercury, which can pose a health risk for mercury poisoning. The types of fish that tend to contain high amounts of mercury include king mackerel, albacore tuna, tilefish, shark, and swordfish. These fish tend to contain more mercury because they are high on the food chain and consume smaller fish, creating an abundance of mercury in their bodies.
Due to overfishing around the world, fishing stocks are rapidly declining. If the current trend continues it is estimated that in 50 years fishing stocks will be depleted.
Some religions forbid the consumption of specific seafood.
Roe is a type of seafood. It is made from the fish eggs of various fish species. These species include sturgeon, salmon, herring, capelin, and flying fish, among others.
Common crustacean species include shrimp, lobster, crayfish, and crab.
Common molluscs include mussels, octopus, oyster, squid, escargot, scallops, and cuttlefish.
Some people consume jellyfish.
Common fish dishes include Ceviche, fish chowder, battered fish, fish tacos, sushi, tuna casserole, and bouillabaisse.
Common seafood dishes include clam chowder, coconut shrimp, orange cuttlefish, crab puffs, and many more.
Mislabelling of seafood has been an issue internationally. Some companies use water retention as a way to make the product weight more. Some companies have been known to substitute with a different fish while labeling the product as another.


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