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* Avoid chemical contaminants. When you buy fish, select younger, smaller ones, since they've accumulated fewer contaminants. Low-fat, offshore species like cod, haddock & Pollack are nice choices. ALWAYS trim the skin, stomach flap & dark meat along the top or middle, when it comes to fatty fish such as bluefish. Don't use the fatty parts to make sauce. Don't eat the green "tomalley" in lobsters or the "mustard" in crabs.
* Avoid natural toxins. When travelling in tropical climates, avoid reef fish such as amberjack, groupers, goatfish or barracuda, which are more likely to be contaminated. Buy only seafood that has been kept continuously chilled, mahi-mahi, tuna & bluefish, which produce an odorless toxin when they spoil.
* Avoid disease=causing undercooked microbes. Bite for bite, raw or undercooked shellfish is the riskiest food you can eat.

Self-defense: Don't eat shellfish whose shells stay closed after cooking. Do not eat raw one shellfish in the event you are over 60, HIV-positive, pregnant, have cancer or liver disease or are vulnerable to infection. Cook all fish & shellfish thoroughly. Raw clams, oysters & mussels ought to be steamed for four minutes.

* Don't buy fresh fish that has dull, sunken eyes, or fish that smells "fishy". Do not buy ready-to-eat seafood that is displayed close to raw seafood.