Buying fresh seafood can be a challenge. There are many things to look for, but once you know the facts on what to look for on fresh seafood, your decision will be a bit easier. Seafood is considered to be fresh when it is still alive, it has not been cooked or frozen, and preservatives have not been added to create a longer shelf life.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm

When buying fresh seafood it can be difficult to figure out how much to buy. Here are some guide lines to follow when buying popular cuts of fresh fish and seafood: whole fish should be about 3/4 to 1 pound per person, dressed (whole fish with gills, inner organs, and scales removed) should be about 1/2 to 3/4 pound per person, fillets or steaks should be about 1/3 to 1/2 pound per person. http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1229/fish-shopping-guide.asp?slide=3 http://www.northernaquafarms.com/seafoodtips.html Fresh scallops and squid that has been cleaned should be about 1/4 to 1/3 pound bought per person, lobster should be about 1 to 2 pounds per person, crab should be about 1 to 2 pounds per person, mussels should be about 12 to 15 per person, oysters should be about 6 to 12 per person, depending on the size, and clams should be about 6 to 12 per person, depending on the size.http://www.northernaquafarms.com/seafoodtips.html

1. Speak to the person selling the seafood. Find out how old the seafood is before buying. Fresh fish and seafood should not be any older than 1 or 2 days old, even if the seafood is on ice. Toxins can develop such as scombrotoxin and histamine, which can cause illness.http://www.northernaquafarms.com/seafoodtips.html http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077331.htm
2. Fresh fish should have a glistening shine to them. The odor should not have a strong fishy, deep sea smell.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
3. Fresh fish should have clear, shiny eyes. They should not be cloudy.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
4. The gills on fresh fish should be a pink or red color and the flesh should spring back when pressed down on.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
5. It is best to buy local seafood when it is in season.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
6. Read the label for where the seafood is coming from. Not all countries have the same standards for what fresh means, and the environmental conditions which the seafood was raised in may not be safe. Conditions and standards in 1 country will not be the same for another.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
7. Read the label to find out if the seafood is farmed or wild.http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
8. When choosing fresh shellfish, there should not be any cracks or broken shells. All shells should be closed, this means they are alive. If a shell is opened, give it a firm tap on the top, the shell should close, if not, then do not buy them.http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077331.htm
9. Crabs and lobsters should be moving around the tank they are held in. This shows that they are alive and well.http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm077331.htm

1. It is always best to buy wild seafood. There are more health benefits when eating fresh seafood caught in the wild such as omega 3 fatty acids.http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/food-safety/animal-feed-and-food/animal-feed-and-the-food-supply-105/seafood-farmed-vs-wild/index.htm
2. Farmed seafood can have high levels of chemicals such as antibiotics, PCBs, dioxins, and mercury.http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/food/food-safety/animal-feed-and-food/animal-feed-and-the-food-supply-105/seafood-farmed-vs-wild/index.htm http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
3. The food fresh seafood is fed in farms is not natural to what would be eaten while swimming in the wild.http://www.crawfish.com/farmed-crawfish-vs-wild-crawfish
4. There is more farmed seafood in the marketplace compared to seafood caught in the wild. There is a higher demand from stores to the manufactures to buy farmed fish because it is cheaper, and the seafood population is easier to control, compared to the populations of seafood out in the wild.http://www.crawfish.com/farmed-crawfish-vs-wild-crawfish http://www.aplastic-anemia.org/aplastic-anemia-news/aplastic-anemia-news-0043.htm
5. Farmed fresh seafood cost less in the marketplace compared to buying seafood caught in the wild.http://www.crawfish.com/farmed-crawfish-vs-wild-crawfish

1. The best farmed fish to buy are the arctic char, bay scallops, catfish from the United States, sturgeon caviar from the United States, mussels, oysters, rainbow trout, striped bass, tilapia, steamer, littleneck clams, cockle clams, and abalone.http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/news/press/atlantic/article_627af2b5-5824-5d46-8c6b-01c686b99162.html http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1540
2. The best wild fish to buy are catfish from the United States, softshell clams, dungeness crab, stone crab, crawfish from the United States, Pacific halibut, spiny lobster, striped mullet, sablefish from Alaska or Canada, salmon from Alaska, sardines from the United States, sea urchin from Canada, Pink shrimp from the United States (Oregon), spot prawns from Canada, squid from the United States, tilapia from the United States, albacore tuna from the United States or Canada, yellowfin tuna from the Atlantic , and wreckfish.http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=1540
3. Fresh seafood can be bought online, but no one can realistically know if the seafood is actually fresh, or if it has been flash frozen. It is best to go to the store in person and pick out your seafood.http://www.northernaquafarms.com/seafoodtips.html