Saving Seafood

Climate change may halve omega‑3 fatty acids in fish and the organisms they eat

August 31, 2026 — You’ve probably heard eating fish and other seafood is good for your health. One of the main reasons is that seafood is an excellent source of two important omega-3 fats called EPA and DHA.

EPA and DHA are critical for the development and function of brains, eyes and healthy hearts. They also reduce chronic inflammation, which is linked to many chronic diseases. They can also reduce the risk of premature births and perhaps even some types of cancer.

While humans can produce EPA and DHA from ALA (an omega-3 fat found in plants) and it’s possible to get them from foods such as linseed and walnuts, seafood is the main source for most people.

However, our new study shows many fish and other seafood will become less rich in omega-3s over time, due to rising ocean temperatures as the climate changes. In fact, we found omega-3 could drop by 50% under very high warming scenarios.

This is very bad news for human health but also for the health of other animals in the food web.

Read the full article at The Conversation 

Editorial: Menhaden study should provide data needed for bay management

July 10, 2026 — Menhaden may be a relatively small fish but they have an outsized presence in ongoing debates about the health of the Chesapeake Bay. The menhaden industry and environmental groups have sparred for years over what constitutes sustainable fishing and how the annual catch affects the critical ecosystem on which so much depends.

By including $2 million in the recently approved state budget for a neutral and clear-eyed study of menhaden, Virginia lawmakers hope to provide the data needed to chart a thoughtful path forward. This is long overdue, and both sides of the debate are right to celebrate this important step by the commonwealth.

Prized for their energy-rich oil, Atlantic menhaden play a central role in the Chesapeake ecosystem, as they have done since long before Europeans settlers arrived here centuries ago. They eat plankton and small plants that improve the water quality while also serving as a primary food source for other bay animal and marine life, from striped bass to ospreys to whales.

Read the full article at The Virginian Pilot 

Treatments containing fish oil, omega-3 fatty acids being trialed on COVID-19 patients

April 17, 2020 — In an effort to suppress and ultimately stifle the spread of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the world’s scientific and medical communities are turning to treatments containing omega-3 fatty acids and fish oil for help.

Clinical trials will soon be run by KD Pharma Group and its partner, SLA Pharma, to test the effectiveness of its new drug, EPAspire, on patients symptomatic with inflammatory cytokines, which is believed to play a part in COVID-19’s progression. The United Kingdom’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has moved to expedite trials of the drug, while discussions with authorities in other European countries are underway, KD Pharma announced on 14 April.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Fatty Acid Dynamics In The Fish Gulf Menhaden

March 6, 2019 — “Essential fatty acids” are critical to organismal growth and development and, because they cannot be synthesized, they must be obtained through the diet. The role of essential fatty acids have been known to the medical community for decades – these components of the diet play a critical role in human health, growth, and development.

The well known omega-3 fatty acids are one example and are used to reduce the risk of heart disease, pain from rheumatoid arthritis, and depression. Other animals, like fishes, also rely on essential fatty acids for their growth and development, and the importance of fatty acid composition is critical in the success in aquaculture because they play an important role in growth, reproduction, and swimming abilities of fishes.

Omega-3 fatty acids like EPA and DHA have recognized physiological functions and are critical during endogenous and early exogenous feeding. Poor growth and survival may occur without sufficient levels of essential fatty acids. Because these biological precursors are so important to organismal development, we sought to describe the intra-annual changes in the fatty acid composition of Gulf Menhaden. This small fish is termed a “forage fish” because it is thought to be a major prey item, and a major ecological role, to a variety of avian, fish, and mammal predators. The Gulf Menhaden stock also supports the largest commercial fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. This fishery is a called a “reduction” fishery because it converts the live fish to both fish oil and fish meal. Fish oil from Gulf Menhaden is rich in EPA and DHA and is widely used for human consumption. Similarly, the fish meal produced is used in a variety of aquaculture and agriculture applications. The implications of seasonal variation in the characteristics of fish oil and fatty acid composition have implications to the dynamics of the reduction fishery as well as to the predators that rely on Gulf Menhaden. In this work, we describe general and specific characteristics of oil content and fatty acid composition of Gulf Menhaden.

Read the full story at Science Trends

 

Studies: Omega-3s temper premature births, heart attacks

November 21, 2018 — New research linking omega-3 fatty acids with a reduced risk of cardiovascular diseases as well as the reduction of dangerous premature births is expected to have benefits for the seafood industry.

In a study of people who took Lovaza, a prescription omega-3 fish oil, researchers found that subjects were 28 percent less likely to suffer heart attacks than those taking a placebo. Additionally, people who ate fewer than 1.5 servings of fish weekly reduced their risk of cardiovascular disease by 19 percent when taking Lovaza.

The research was presented at the recent American Heart Association 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago, Illinois, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

“The use of fish oil did not significantly reduce risk for those eating more seafood, but the average overall showed a reduced risk,” Dr. Tom Brenna, a professor of pediatrics, chemistry, and nutrition at the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, and chair of Seafood Nutrition Partnership’s Scientific and Nutrition Advisory Council, told SeafoodSource. “The message here is, ‘If you don’t eat fish, take supplements.'”

Alongside the Lovaza study, a new Cochrane Review of 70 studies worldwide found that omega-3 fatty acids reduced dangerous preterm births by 42 percent.

The extensive review of published studies, which included 20,000 pregnant women, also revealed an 11 percent reduction in preterm births, and a 10 percent reduction in risk of having a low-birthweight baby. The researchers reviewed studies involving fish oil supplements as well as seafood.

“This study is further evidence that health professionals should be actively promoting fish and omega-3s among pregnant women as they have possibly the most to gain from eating more fish,” Jennifer McGuire, a registered dietitian for the National Fisheries Institute, told SeafoodSource.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

 

Recent studies say fish oil could boost your heart

November 16, 2018 — Heart disease is the leading killer in America, and San Antonio is no exception.

But as the Washington Post reports, two recent major studies point to the possibility that medications derived from fish oils could help protect people from heart attacks, strokes and other types of cardiovascular ailments. These are medications, not supplements.

The long-term studies involved two drugs derived from omega-3 fatty acids. Both studies found the drugs, if taken appropriately, made a significant difference for people with diabetes or heart disease.

Read the full story at the San Antonio Express

Nutrition researcher: The human diet needs more shellfish

October 29, 2018 — Numerous studies have shown that eating seafood is good for human health, but Professor Baukje de Roos, deputy director of the Rowett Institute at Scotland’s University of Aberdeen and an internationally recognized nutrition scientist, believes that shellfish are some of the most important contributors of essential nutrients and should be given a great place in the diet.

Professor de Roos, who is currently researching the effects of farmed seafood on heart health and micronutrient status, updated delegates at the recent Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference in Oban, Scotland, on the major health benefits of seafood and outlined the important involvement of shellfish.

Professor de Roos reminded her audience that omega-3 fatty acids help to protect against stroke and lower the risk of mortality from coronary heart disease, while vitamin D is essential for the growth and maintenance of healthy bones; and vitamin B12 is involved in the functioning of the nervous system, the formation of red blood cells, and in energy production.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Decades-long study ties omega-3s from seafood to healthier aging

October 25, 2018 — A study of over 2,500 adults between 1992 and 2015 has found that omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids present in seafood reduce the risk of unhealthy aging.

The study, published in BMJ, started with adults at an average age of 74 in 1992 and examined the levels of four different omega-3s – eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), docosapentaenoic acid (DPA), and alpha linolenic acid (ALA) – present in their body. Over the course of the study, participants were surveyed regularly, and in three periods – 1992-1993, 1998-1999, and 2005-2006 – had the omega-3s present in their blood measured.

The study found, after correcting for other factors such as age, sex, and race, that adults with higher levels of EPA and DPA had a better chance of healthy aging. Participants with the highest level of omega-3s present had an 18 percent lower risk of unhealthy aging. Participants with the highest levels of EPA and DPA, the omega-3s commonly found in seafood, had the best results: Those with high levels of EPA had a 24 percent lower risk of unhealthy aging, and those with DPA had an 18 percent lower risk of unhealthy aging.

“We found that older adults who had higher levels of omega 3 from seafood were more likely to live longer and healthier lives,” lead study author Heidi Lai of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston told Reuters. “These findings support current national dietary guidelines to consume more seafood.”

The study also found that levels of DHA from seafood and ALA from plants did not seem to have an impact on whether the participant would age healthily or not.

“Docosahexaenoic acid from seafood and alpha-linolenic acid from plants were not associated with a lower likelihood of unhealthy ageing,” states the report.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Omega 3 fatty acids found in seafood tied to healthy aging

October 24, 2018 — People may be more likely to age without health problems when they have more omega 3 fatty acids in their blood, a recent study suggests.

The study authors focused on so-called healthy aging, or the number of years people live without developing disabilities or physical or mental health problems. They examined data on 2,622 adults who were 74 years old on average, following them from 1992 to 2015. Only 11 percent of participants experienced healthy aging throughout the entire study period.

“We found that older adults who had higher levels of omega 3 from seafood were more likely to live longer and healthier lives,” said lead study author Heidi Lai of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts University in Boston.

“These findings support current national dietary guidelines to consume more seafood,” Lai said by email.

Adults should get about eight ounces a week of seafood, ideally by eating it twice a week in place of meats, poultry or eggs, according to U.S. dietary guidelines. Some options that are high in omega 3s include salmon, anchovies, herring, shad, sardines, oysters, trout and Atlantic or Pacific mackerel.

Read the full story at Reuters

 

Fish Oil Drug May Reduce Heart Attack and Stroke Risks for Some

September 26, 2018 — Cardiologists may one day have a new tool to help prevent heart attacks and strokes in some high-risk patients: a prescription drug that contains large doses of EPA, an omega-3 fatty acid contained in fish oil.

A large clinical trial found that the drug, called Vascepa, sharply reduced the rate of cardiovascular events in people with a history of heart disease or Type 2 diabetes, according to early results that were announced on Monday.

The findings were particularly relevant for people with high triglycerides, a type of fat in the blood that has been linked to an increased risk of heart disease. The new trial, called Reduce-IT, focused on people whose cholesterol levels were well controlled with statins but whose triglyceride levels remained very high. Many cardiovascular experts were doubtful that adding fish oil on top of statins would produce much if any benefit because a number of smaller and less rigorous studies over the years had failed.

But the new trial showed that statin-treated adults with elevated triglycerides who were prescribed high doses of the purified EPA had a 25 percent reduction in their relative risk of heart attacks, strokes and other cardiac events compared to a control group of patients who received placebo.

Read the full story at The New York Times