Orange roughy...is it really that bad?

kellieprindle

I bought orange roughy at the store and when I came home to find recipes, I found a lot of sites that recommended banning the fish. Unfortunately, after that, I didn't want to waste the fish so I cooked it...and it was like lobster...amazing!! So how horrible would I be if I went back and bought it again? Is anyone informed on the subject?





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solflyer81

I love orange roughy. I m not informed on it being bad, but i do know that it is packed full of Omega 3s which are super good for you and cholesterol. I m curious now though if it is bad...

Pandorian

Take opinions with a grain of salt lol.

If critics LOVE a movie chances are I'm going to hate it and the ones they suggest not bothering with are the great ones. It's SUCH a shame that someone will try something once and not touch it again when it might have been the cooking method that they really didn't like as opposed to what was being eaten. Funny that you'd pick lobster to compare it to though, wasn't that long ago Lobster was a meal that only the poor would eat, but oops we can market it at insane prices? hmmm now more and more people want it

ETA - if you ate it and liked it then obviously the internet sites claiming it should be banned don't apply for you

hm_day

The reason it's trying to be "banned" is because they're in danger of being extinct. The amount of consumption has risen so drastically and the population can't keep up. The fish itself isn't bad for you, people are just trying to save the orange roughy pop

michelegrayson

Wow, this was news to me so I looked it up on the Monterey Bay "seatoodwatch" website and you are right. It is recommended to avoid as it is overfished AND it contains a lot of mercury.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=14

Who knew??

olpbabe

Basically...

Why is Orange Roughy so vulnerable?
This fish is a slow grower. It lives for a long time – sometimes to as old as 130 years - and does not start reproducing until it is 30 years old. The low reproduction combined with the species’ tendency to cluster makes it very vulnerable to overfishing. In addition, because Orange Roughy are caught by the extremely destructive method of bottom-trawling, it’s not just this species that suffer but there is a much wider damaging effect on the ocean.

Orange Roughy used to be called Slimehead. With such an ugly name, there was a PR problem for those trying to sell the fish. A name change later, the fish became a hit. Sadly, its popularity has been its downfall.

So Orange Roughy is a bad choice for supper in every way imaginable.

OK, who is eating Orange Roughy?
Why would anybody eat this fish – or any other fish that is in so much trouble? You can’t but wonder. The culprits are:
– People who do not care about the state of the species or of the oceans (I’ll be dead in fifty years so the extinction of a species is irrelevant to my life)
– People who don’t know that Orange Roughy – and other threatened species – are in trouble

Hopefully, the “don’t-knows” make up the bulk of the consumers. They can usually be relied upon to use their free will and good judgement – as consumers and as shoppers. Sustainable Seafood Guides recommend the alternative of Tilapia and Halibut IF we must eat this fish (check with the guide pertaining to where you live). Where the “don’t cares” are concerned, the solution can only come through legislation, fisheries policies and control of the supply. But really, there are no excuses for consumers, restaurants, retailers and policy-makers.

jillnemma

I love Orange Roughy.....gotta find it now here in MA. Great job on your losses

techymum

I don't believe that it is said to be bad for you, I believe the argument is that it has been over-fished. Similar to cod in Canada. So it is more of an ethical/moral decision.

Actually Orange roughy is one of the few fish that I found I liked - probably because it doesn't taste "fishy"!

KelieHerrera

Orange Roughy is on the list of fishes that are high in mercury, that could be why some sites advise not eating it.

veganbaum

I think your post is confusing - do you mean the conservation of the fish, because it seems like people are taking it to mean the fish itself is bad. Orange roughy is on (very long) list of fish that is being overfished, hence the population is in decline. Roughies have a long life span and their mating is not the same as some other fish, hence as the rate of Roughy caught has risen, the population has drastically dwindled. Roughy are also caught using trawling - a method that damages ecosystems in the ocean. THAT is why there have been conservation efforts made and why there are discussions about banning the harvesting of Roughies, at least temporarily to allow for an increase in population.

Edit: Roughies are likely high in mercury precisely because of their long lifespans. The longer a fish lives, the more time it has to absorb mercury.

RMinVA

Banned because it is "bad for you" since it's a bottom feeder? or banned due to overfishing?

I like it, but I don't buy it that often since it tends to be kind of expensive. But I also tend to avoid species that are overfished: Swordfish, Chilean Sea Bass, etc.

It's up to you on whether or not you want to deal with the "bottom feeder" issue: that also would mean that you should avoid other fish like flounder, tilapia, catfish, and scavengers like crab.

kellieprindle

I meant that people are banning it aparently due to overfishing. Is that info really reliable? I didn't know about the mercury...I am breastfeeding, maybe I shouldn't eat it...hmmm





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struong12

This is what I found on it.

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/SeafoodWatch/web/sfw_factsheet.aspx?gid=14

putnam80

from understanding other fishing practices, and as with anything else, it will eventually be raised in farms. if it is high demand and they natural population cant keep up, the market will make it keep up. If you put stuff on menus, people will keep them from going extinct.

TheRoadDog

Ted Nugent once said in an interview, “I'm stymied to come up with anything funnier than people who think animals have rights."