Kiwis used to be called Mud Apples. I think Mud Apples is more appropriate, but, I'm glad New Zealand's economy was able to find something that works better in American grocery stores...

TIncreased algal blooms result in increased amounts of cholera epidemics.

The Slimehead/Orange Roughy has actually been a fairly popular fish for some time-- one of the major reasons for their increased presence on the market of late has been the discovery of a large deep-sea population near Australia, coupled with strides in deep-sea fishing technology.
Unfortunately, as they do not begin to reproduce until they're 20 or so (they can live to be 149) they're in danger of extinction. The entire population has been drastically impacted by deep-sea trawling, and because the more desirable, mature fish are being snatched up first the population is in danger of becoming unsustainable.

Or....
Why don't they just stop fishing altogether? They're just going to run into the same problem of overfishing no matter what species is most popular at the time. It's not like people need to eat fish to survive anyway. With all the pollution in the oceans, I can't for the life of me figure out why anyone would ever eat fish.

Thanks for doing this topic - it's something I've been interested in for years.

Other renamed fish - the snotnose trevalla (now just called "trevally") and the headfish (now called monkfish). Why they haven't renamed the Wandering Sheepshead I don't know.

I have an anecdote! I read it in the paper years ago. Patagonian Toothfish is an illegal fish to sell in Australia, because it's endangered and presumably there isn't a large Toothfish fishery lobby. Despite this, one of our most famed restaurants had it on its menu for a year, because the fishery had sold it to them as "Chilean sea bass" and the owner didn't realise it was the same fish.

And last week there was a big meeting about tuna. Apparently we ate all the tuna, so there's not much left and we have to catch less. Reports here, and here.

I just spent a month on a tiny island (population 54) in the middle of nowhere (300 miles to the nearest other inhabited island). The lagoon and surrounding ocean is teeming with fish, including the big game fish that are endangered most other places. The islanders use traditional handmade nets and spears to fish with.

It's the first time I have eaten fish and NOT had to feel guilty since I can remember. Wonderful!

For the real world, however, I have a handy printout on card that I carry with me to remind me which fish I don't have to feel TOO bad about. Mine's an Australian-specific one, but here's a link (pdf) to one that might be more useful to people who read here.

Rachel, I'd like one of those little cards for Japan. Fish is everywhere, and I'll bet it's all the least-ethically fished in the world.

http://blogfishx.blogspot.com/ is a pretty good site for your fish-on-the-internet needs. Here's one of his posts on this topic (I read a better one elsewhere, but can't find it).

http://blogfishx.blogspot.com/2008/12/imposter-fish.html

I was listening to this on NPR when it aired. I think if people were closer to their food supply. I believe it was the slimehead (I don't have time to listen to the broadcast again) who can live to be 150 years old and they don't reach adulthood until they're 30 years old. We're wiping them out far faster than they can possibly be replaced...if we were even trying to do such a thing.

I think a lot of people would care if they were a little closer to their food supply's origins. As of now there are many people who think of fish without heads, frozen into steaks or fillets, no tails, no fins, no skin. They don't see a fish's importance to the earth when it isn't part of a meal. I think people would be more cautious and understanding if they caught their own fish using the average fishman's means of a rod and some bait. If they tried to fish in places that became over-fished they would learn not to take more than they need. I'm probably being too idealistic, but that's nothing new.

I wonder why certain fish were "unpopular" in the first place? It's odd.
Because as far as taste, I wonder how many people can really even tell the difference? I've notice for years that certain popular seafoods like red snapper (my favorite!) and scallops are fake much more often than not. According to Congress, "red snapper" is fake as much as 80% of the time. That is, they'll tell you it's red snapper, but what they give you is less-expensive tilapia or whatever. Or, as noted, they just make up a yummy-by-association name like "Pacific Red Snapper," when in fact there is literally no such thing (it's actually rockfish; real red snapper is an Atlantic/Gulf fish).

To me, the difference in taste/texture is obvious, but apparently, it isn't to most people. So if tilapia is so unobjectionable (it's the tofu of the sea!) and can stand in for red snapper (ie: it tastes "just as good"), then why wasn't it this popular years ago?

Makes you wonder whether you really even like the things you think you like.

i am so going 2 get an A onmy science project because of this page............

DERP

Just as a reminder to everyone, please don't eat orange roughy. They are severely overfished and facing extinction. Independent scientists place their age of maturity at 26 years, but fisheries scientists place it at five, meaning that they are allowed to fish them out at around age six, because they have already matured and had the chance to reproduce, which just isn't true.

Knowing which fish you can take home and which one to let go comes with experience. Lotsa folks out there just wanna go and fish with their buddies while unknowingly killing fish that might be facing extinction. That's why imo, if you don't possess enough knowledge, you should definitely hire a guide to help you around. Then you can just flop around in your fishing bibs https://gritroutdoors.com/apparel/fishing-clothing/bibs-waders/ while having a good time with little to no chances of hurting the wildlife.