Something's Fishy

     Yesterday I purchased two tilapia fillets.  They were exactly the same weight.  They are always the same weight no matter when I get them.  How is that possible?  So I did a little research and came up with the answer.
     The tilapia that we buy at the market is actually the common name of nearly 100 species of the family of cichlid fishes, a warm, fresh water native of Africa, sometimes called the St. Peter's Fish.  That name came from the account in Matthew's Gospel when Simon Peter caught a fish with a coin in it's mouth.  (Matthew 17:27)  It is also commonly believed that it was tilapia that Jesus used to feed the multitude in the story of the fishes and the loaves. (Matthew 14:19ff)  But I digress.
     Tilapia has become known as "aquatic chicken" because it is part of a relatively new form of commerce known as aquaculture.  Unheard of 10 years ago, tilapia are now successfully farm raised in various parts of the world, like Latin America and China.  They breed easily, are fast growing and lean and subsist on an inexpensive vegetarian diet of a combination of corn and soy in pellet form.  Commercially grown, they are raised in pens in natural lakes in close quarters and are almost exclusively male to keep their size large.  And right at the "fish factory" they are processed into identical skinless, boneless fillets that can go from lake to plate in as little as 12 hours.
     In 2010 475 million pounds of tilapia were consumed in America.  It is favored by many because it does not have a fishy taste.  In fact, the flavor is rather bland, making it the fish of choice for institutional meals in places such as schools and hospitals.  They provide a good source of protein, are low in saturated fat, calories, carbohydrates, and sodium and are low in levels of mercury.  But they are also lacking in the vital omega-3 fatty acids recommended for a heart healthy diet.  By comparison salmon contains 10 times as much omega-3, ounce for ounce.
     And there is another downside.  Even a small pen of tilapia in a natural lake can pollute the entire body of water.  Then there is also the issue of the weak regulations regarding their production in China, the main supplier of frozen tilapia to the United States.  They are the largest producer of the farm raised fish in the world.  While Latin America provides more fresh fillets, the frozen ones continue to be cheaper and so are more often found in stores.
     We need to be cautious about our purchase of those identical farm raised fillets.  They might not be all that healthy and could even be detrimental to the consuming public.