If you live in any city in the Pacific Northwest, you’re probably pretty familiar with seafood. However, unless you’re going out all the time to buy fresh fish, you probably don’t realize just how good we really have it. People living in Vancouver, Seattle, and other major cities in the Pacific Northwest are surrounded by a huge variety of seafood and ocean shellfish found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean, Salish Sea, and straits closer to shore.

If you’ve got the taste for seafood, you can’t find anything better than local line-caught tuna, Dungeness crab, wild-caught salmon, or ocean-farmed oysters. However, if you aren’t in the habit of eating seafood regularly, or if the only seafood you’ve ever had is fish and chips from your local pub or seafood restaurant, it may surprise you to learn that there a ton of beneficial compounds in seafood that cannot be found in any other food on Earth.

That may sound like an exaggeration, but it’s not. Research has shown that some of the health benefits of seafood cannot be found in terrestrial organisms- they’re unique to water-dwelling creatures.

Today, we’ll cover some of the most important health benefits of seafood, and discuss why preparing it at home is always going to be healthier than eating it in a restaurant. We’ll also share some of our top tricks and tips for both seafood novices and seasoned fish fans.

The Health Benefits of Seafood

The main reason why fish is so beneficial to our health is because it’s a low-fat, high-quality protein. Despite that fact, it’s one of the least-consumed proteins in the United States, with most people eating an average of 1.5 ounces of it daily, compared to roughly 7.5 ounces of animal-based proteins like beef and chicken.

Canadians eat seafood between 1.9 and 3.7 times per month. When you consider that we eat an average of 90 meals every month, that’s not a lot! The American Heart Association recommendseating seafood at least twice a week.

Despite the fact that consumption is relatively low, fish and seafood as a whole remain one of the most beneficial sources of proteins for our health. Unlike red meats, seafood offers a good amount of protein- between 12 and upwards of 20+ grams per serving. It’s also low in saturated fat.

If you’re trying to watch your weight or eat in a more health-conscious way, the first thing you’ll want to do is limit your calories. However, it’s important to ensure that you’re still getting the protein and nutrients your body needs.

Seafood is nutrient-dense, which means that you’re consuming fewer calories per serving, and a higher percentage of the calories you are consuming are directly fulfilling your protein needs. When you comparesteak (158 calories per 26 grams of protein) to tuna (99 calories per 22 grams of protein), the difference is clear.

What Nutrients are in Fish and Shellfish?

In addition to being a low-calorie, high-protein food, seafood is also rich in essential nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin D, and omega-3 fatty acids. These omega-3s are part of why organizations like the American Heart Association recommend regular fish consumption.

Omega-3 fatty acids are extremely beneficial for our heart health, and can help decrease our risk for arrhythmias, lower our triglyceride levels, and slow the growth of artery-clogging plaquethat causes heart attacks and strokes.

It isn’t just our heart that benefits from increased consumption of omega-3s. Eating more of this beneficial nutrient helps to support sharper brain function, reduce the severity and risk of mental health disorders, and ensure long-term eye health. It also boosts our immune system, and bone health.

Are There Any Reasons I Shouldn’t Eat Seafood?

Since seafood offers so many health benefits, it’s hard to understand why more people don’t eat it. One of the main reasons why some people have stayed away from this nutrient powerhouse is because they’ve heard rumours of mercury and heavy metals being found in some types of fish.

Mercury contamination occurs because pollution from coal-burning factories and power plants settles in waterways, where’s its absorbed by fish. The highest concentrations of mercury are found in larger predatory fish like tuna, king mackerel, swordfish, and marlin. As long as you don’t eat too many servings of these types of fish (the American Environmental Protection Agency recommends2 per week), you’ll be fine. If you’re worried, stick to other forms of seafood that are reliably lower in mercury, like salmon, shrimp, sardines, mackerel, anchovies, and herring.

The Historical Importance of Fish in The Pacific Northwest

Another benefit of eating seafood is it offers a historical connection to the land we live in. Fish, and salmon in particular have played a huge role in the daily lives of the Indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest. Many individual nations still consider salmon an important resource and spiritual symbol, and are reliant on the yearly salmon runs to order their world-view, and provide them essential sustenance.

It’s hard to explain just how important salmon and other fish are to the spiritual, economic, and cultural life of the Indigenous people of this area. Even if we don’t belong to this cultural group ourselves, we must acknowledge the incredible role salmon has played in the history of this region, and treat it with the respect it deserves.

The Best Way to Prepare the Healthiest Seafood

One way that we can honor both the historical and nutritional importance of seafood is to prepare it in a way that highlights its health benefits. Even if you already eat fish regularly, it never hurts to refresh your culinary habits by learning some new tips and tricks.

Here are some ways we’ve found to prepare the healthiest and most delicious seafood possible.

Experiment with What You Like

Many people never get beyond fish fingers or boiled shrimp. That’s not necessarily because they don’t like fish. It’s more likely that they’ve never really gone outside their comfort zone and tried something new.

There are so many incredible flavours and textures of seafood, ranging from mild, chewy scallops to rich, buttery Pacific salmon. If you find a particular texture (like shrimp or prawns) off-putting, try a firmer-fleshed fish like halibut or tuna.

Start at Home

In seafood restaurants, fish is often prepared alongside high sodium and high trans-fat ingredients like French fries deep-fried in vegetable oil or pie crust made with lard or margarine. Dishes like fish and chips or fish pie may be delicious, but they completely negate the health benefits of the fish they use by adding tons of unhealthy ingredients.

Restaurants also tend to offer much larger portion sizes, making it difficult to know when to stop eating. Cooking at home makes it so much easier to portion your meal correctly, and swap in healthier ingredients like olive oil, fresh veggies, and whole-wheat flour.

Choose Healthy Accompaniments

We all know that most things taste delicious when you dredge them in white flour and fry them in lots of oil. Unfortunately, that’s a quick way to completely ruin the nutritional benefits of your fish, even if you’re cooking it at home.

Instead of frying it, explore a few new ways to cook your fish. This could be anything from grilling it with a light coating of olive oil to cooking it in a sous vide machine, where it retains more omega-3s than if you used a higher-heat method like baking. You can also experiment with different marinades, which adds tons of flavour before the fish even hits the heat.

Get Seafood Delivered

If you’re looking to try a lot of new types of fish, you may benefit from a meal or grocery delivery service. This cuts out the middleman, and ensures you’re getting high-quality fish that’s incredibly fresh. This is a great option for people who want to experiment and open their horizons to fish they may not have tried before.

7 Seas Fish Market offers one of the only fresh food service delivery options focused on fish, and offers incredible value to customers looking for delicious, local, high-quality seafood that represents the best the Pacific Northwest has to offer.

7 Seas Fish Market  Makes It Easy to Find Fresh Seafood

At 7 Seas Fish Market, we’re passionate about fish. It’s true - we could have chosen any number of products to offer. We decided on seafood because that is what we know and love. Not only are we passionate about it - we’re also knowledgeable. Our founder is the third generation in his family to work in seafood, and carries a deep understanding of the region’s fish and shellfish, including how to get the best varieties, store it safely, and ship it quickly to your door.

Our boxes come with pre-portioned, ready-to-cook cuts of fish like salmon, halibut, and sablefish, along with the occasional treat like salmon candy or fish jerky. It’s a great way to explore new types of seafood, and learn how to cook it in a way that’s both healthy and delicious.

Interested in being one of our first subscribers? Contact us today to learn more about how to get your very first 7 Seas fresh fish order.

James Heras is one of the owners of 7 Seas Fish Market. He is a second generation family business owner and first started working at the store when he was 15 years old. He vividly remembers visiting his Grandmother Lorraine (then manager) at the store in his early childhood and will never forgot his first job at 12 years old, cleaning sockeye salmon in the processing plant. He is proud that his family is the number one seafood company in Vancouver for over 55 years.