Table 1.
Justification for grouping of aquaculture and wild fisheries into subcategories.
| Category | Subcategory | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Aquaculture finfish | High omega-3 | Current evidence suggest that 250 mg of omega-3 LCPUFAs per week is associated with reduced cardiac mortality from coronary heart disease and reduced risk of sudden death from cardiovascular disease (3). The omega-3 content of seafood varies between species. Fish that contained 250 mg or more omega-3 per 100 g edible portion was considered to have a higher level of omega-3. Omega-3 content was sought through the AUSNUT 2011–2013 Food Nutrient Database (36). |
| Low omega-3 | Fish that contained < 250 mg/100 g were considered to have a lower level. Omega-3 content was sought through the AUSNUT 2011–2013 Food Nutrient Database (36). | |
| Wild fishery finfish | High trophic | The trophic level of finfish was determined using an online database fishbase.org. Many species of popular table fish are higher order predators with trophic levels of three or more. Large, high-trophic-level predators, including tuna, shark, and swordfish, were given their own category as many of these stocks are overfished and wild capture fisheries preferentially target large, high-trophic-level species (37). |
| Popular table fish | Widely consumed fish that were not categorised as large predators, small pelagic or underutilised were included as popular table fish. These species are considered more “popular” than some other types of fish due to taste, texture, smell, and colour, and, therefore, regularly purchased and consumed (38). | |
| Small pelagic | Pelagic fish inhabit the pelagic zone of the ocean, or the open water that is not associated with the ocean floor or the shore. Small pelagic fish include forage fish such as anchovies, sardines, and larger fish such as mackerels. Predators of small pelagics include larger fish such as tuna and billfish. Small pelagics are often highly nutritious (2). | |
| Underutilised species | Includes those species which are not highly targeted and are fished below the maximum sustainable yield. |