As more people are opting against red meat diet for plant based and sea food, this might be a good time to analyze aquatic food sources. The environmental impact of industrialized red meat production and health concerns has made sea food a favourable alternative diet also termed as “pescatarian diet”.
Utilizing visualization, this project explores:
- Sustainability of seafood. Goal: Exploring how sustainable the fishing rates are across the fishing regions in USA. Environmentally and Fish populations.
- Nutritional value of seafood. Goal: Establishing the nutritional value of fish species found across US marine. Compare species, identify trends and comparison with other food sources e.g. beef.
According to the data from National Oceanic and Atmostpheric Administration (NOAA) seafood fishing has been mostly within recommended levels across fishery regions in the US.
The majority of fishing regions are experiencing stable fishing rates, well within recommended levels for existing populations. The Greater Atlantic fishing zone has the highest levels of over fishing as compared to the other regions (20%).
As some private companies are also embarking on fish farming to preserve communities, some of the species have been observed to have a net benefit to the environment.
| Blue Mussel | Sable Fish |
|---|---|
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| The blue mussel has been observed to have a net benefit on the environment while boasting rich levels of protein (21% RDA). | The sable fish is available year round and is a great source for protein (24% RDA), low on carbs (0% RDA) and sodium (4% RDA). But the species is under monitoring from federal and state authorities to ensure its fishing has minimal impact on the environment. It also has relatively high levels of selenium (66% RDA). |
All species show very low amounts of sugars, fat and saturated fatty acids, which is good for heart health. For anyone looking for a low carb diet, fish is the answer. They have very low carbohydrate per serving.
Futher analysis, including responsive charts can be found here.