Seafood and Health

The Fish Market in Canada

Surrounded by the Arctic, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and home to the Great Lakes, Canada has more than 160 species of saltwater and freshwater seafood.

In this section, you can find and compare the nutritional value of some of the most popular types of seafood available in Canada - mainly species that are produced domestically along with a few popular types that are imported. Values are presented per 100 grams of cooked seafood to allow comparisons across species.

Factsheets are also available that provide more information about some of these species. Links to those factsheets are provided along with the nutrition profile.

Fact Sheets

Anchovy
Arctic char
Blue mussels
Capelin/Smelt
Cod
Flatfish (American Plaice, Rock Sole, Summer Flounder, Winter Flounder, Witch Flounder, Yellowtail Flounder)
Greenland Halitbut or Greenland Turbot
Haddock
Hake (Pacific, Red or White)
Halibut
Herring
Lake Perch
Lake Whitefish
Lobster
Mackerel
Monkfish
Oysters
Perch
Pickerel
Pollock
Sablefish
Salmon
Sardines
Scallops
Shrimp
Snow Crab
Tilapia
Trout
Tuna, canned

*PDF Format, requires Adobe Acrobat Reader

Nutritional Value of Selected Types of Seafood (*PDF)

Species of Seafood	Nutrient content (per 100 grams cooked)
	Energy (kcal)	Protein (g)	Total fat (g)	Saturated fat (g)	Omega-3 fats			Omega-6 fats
					DHA (g)	EPA (g)	ALAa (g)	AA (g)	LAb (g)
Anchovy (canned in olive oil)	210	28.89	9.71	2.203	1.292	0.763	0.017	0.010	0.362
Arctic char	158	26.00	5.00	0.900	0.400	0.500	0.1	tr	0.100
Blue mussels (boiled or steamed)	172	23.80	4.48	0.850	0.506	0.276	0.040	0.140	0.036
Capelin/Smelt	124	22.60	3.10	0.579	0.536	0.353	0.063	0.071	0.058
Cod
-Atlantic, scrod	105	22.83	0.86	0.168	0.154	0.004	0.001	0.028	0.006
-Pacific, gray	105	22.95	0.81	0.104	0.173	0.103	0.003	0.022	0.008
Flatfish (flounder, sole or plaice)	117	24.16	1.53	0.363	0.258	0.243	0.016	0.048	0.014
Haddock	112	24.24	0.93	0.167	0.162	0.076	0.003	0.029	0.012
Hake	116	23.48	1.69	0.400	0.235	0.283	0.013	0.020	0.020
Halibut, Atlantic or Pacific	140	26.69	2.94	0.417	0.374	0.091	0.083	0.178	0.038
Herring
-Atlantic herring	203	23.03	11.59	2.615	1.105	0.909	0.132	0.077	0.167
-Pacific herring	250	21.01	17.79	4.174	0.883	1.242	0.073	0.123	0.246
Lake whitefish (baked)	133	22.50	4.30	1.162	1.206	0.406	0.235	0.286	0.349
Lobster, Atlantic (boiled or steamed)	98	20.50	0.59	0.107	0.031	0.053	0.000	0.000	0.005
Mackerel, Atlantic	262	23.85	17.81	4.176	0.699	0.504	0.113	0.051	0.147
Monkfish	97	18.56	1.95	-	-	-	-	-	-
Oysters
-Atlantic oysters (farmed)	79	7.00	2.12	0.683	0.211	0.229	0.063	0.044	0.043
-Atlantic oysters (wild)	72	8.25	1.90	0.550	0.291	0.260	0.050	0.053	0.032
-Pacific oysters (boiled or steamed)	163	18.90	4.60	1.020	0.500	0.876	0.064	0.076	0.064
Perch
-Pacific ocean perch (Pacific rockfish)	121	24.04	2.01	0.474	0.262	0.181	0.022	0.021	0.038
-Atlantic ocean perch (Redfish)	121	23.88	2.09	0.313	0.271	0.103	0.073	0.005	0.036
Pollock
-Atlantic pollock	118	24.92	1.26	0.170	0.451	0.091	-	0.033	0.012
-Alaskan pollock	113	23.51	1.12	0.231	0.283	0.185	0.008	0.016	0.008
Sablefish	250	17.19	19.62	4.099	0.920	0.867	0.122	0.133	0.211
Salmon
-Atlantic salmon (farmed)	206	22.10	12.35	2.504	1.457	0.690	0.113	1.273	0.666
-Chinook salmon (wild)	231	25.72	13.38	3.214	0.727	1.010	0.110	0.197	0.136
-chum (keta) salmon (wild)	154	25.82	4.83	1.077	0.505	0.299	0.044	0.038	0.077
-coho salmon (wild)	139	23.45	4.30	1.054	0.658	0.401	0.055	0.022	0.056
-coho salmon (farmed)	178	24.30	8.23	1.944	0.871	0.408	0.076	0.094	0.373
-pink salmon (wild)	149	25.56	4.42	0.715	0.751	0.537	0.044	0.100	0.064
-sockeye (red) salmon (wild)	216	27.31	10.97	1.917	0.700	0.530	0.062	0.030	0.113
Salmon, canned
-chum (keta) (unsalted)	141	21.43	5.50	1.486	0.702	0.473	0.049	0.073	0.057
-pink (unsalted)	136	16.30	7.40	1.652	1.083	0.605	0.084	0.148	0.120
-sockeye (red) (unsalted)	163	16.80	10.10	2.332	1.113	0.739	0.086	0.144	0.144
-sockeye (red) (salted)	163	16.80	10.10	2.332	1.113	0.739	0.086	0.144	0.144
Sardines, Atlantic (canned with oil)	208	24.62	11.45	1.528	0.509	0.473	0.498	0.000	3.543
Scallops, bay and sea (steamed)	112	23.20	1.40	0.146	0.199	0.166	0.000	0.042	0.007
Shrimp, mixed species (boiled or steamed)	99	20.91	1.08	0.289	0.144	0.171	0.012	0.071	0.021
Snow crab (boiled or steamed)	115	23.72	1.51	0.183	0.145	0.332	0.003	0.042	0.008
Tilapia	128	26.15	2.65	0.940	0.130	0.005	0.045*	0.035	0.285
Trout, rainbow (farmed)	169	24.27	7.20	2.105	0.820	0.334	0.082	0.036	0.949
Tuna, canned
-Light tuna (in water, unsalted)	116	25.51	0.82	0.230	0.223	0.047	0.000	0.034	0.009
-Light tuna (in oil, salted)	198	29.13	8.21	1.534	0.101	0.027	0.074	0.000	2.683
-White tuna (albacore) (in water, unsalted)	128	23.62	2.97	0.792	0.629	0.233	0.071	0.051	0.055
-White tuna (albacore) (in oil, salted)	186	26.53	8.08	1.280	0.178	0.066	0.204	0.014	2.489
Turbot, Greenland	239	18.42	17.74	3.102	0.504	0.674	0.055	0.078	0.158

Nutritional Value of Selected Types of Seafood - continued

	Nutrient content (per 100 grams cooked)
Species of Seafood	Mono- unsaturated fat (g)	Choles- terol (mg)	Carbo- hydrate (g)	Calcium (mg)	Copper (mg)	Iron (mg)	Magnesium (mg)	Selenium (µg)
Anchovy (canned in olive oil)	3.770	85	0.00	232	0.339	4.63	69	68.1
Arctic char	2.500	-	0.00	30	0.100	0.50	30	-
Blue mussels (boiled or steamed)	1.014	56	7.39	33	0.149	6.72	37	89.6
Capelin/Smelt	0.822	90	0.00	77	0.178	1.15	38	46.8
Cod
-Atlantic, scrod	0.124	55	0.00	14	0.036	0.49	42	37.6
-Pacific, gray	0.105	47	0.00	9	0.033	0.33	31	46.8
Flatfish (flounder, sole or plaice)	0.276	68	0.00	18	0.026	0.34	58	58.2
Haddock	0.151	74	0.00	42	0.033	1.35	50	40.5
Hake	0.445	84	0.00	62	0.040	0.42	27	41.1
Halibut, Atlantic or Pacific	0.967	41	0.00	60	0.035	1.07	107	46.8
Herring
-Atlantic herring	4.790	77	0.00	74	0.118	1.41	41	46.8
-Pacific herring	8.807	99	0.00	106	0.100	1.44	41	46.8
Lake whitefish (baked)	2.559	77	0.00	16	0.270	0.39	30	10.0
Lobster, Atlantic (boiled or steamed)	0.160	72	1.28	61	1.940	0.39	35	42.7
Mackerel, Atlantic	7.006	75	0.00	15	0.094	1.57	97	51.6
Monkfish	-	32	0.00	10	0.036	0.41	27	46.8
Oysters
-Atlantic oysters (farmed)	0.230	38	7.28	56	1.434	7.77	33	77.5
-Atlantic oysters (wild)	0.230	49	4.80	45	3.455	4.33	46	71.7
-Pacific oysters (boiled or steamed)	0.776	100	9.90	16	2.679	9.20	44	154.0
Perch
-Pacific ocean perch (Pacific rockfish)	0.447	44	0.00	12	0.037	0.53	34	46.8
-Atlantic ocean perch (Redfish)	0.801	54	0.00	137	0.033	1.18	39	55.5
Pollock
-Atlantic pollock	0.143	91	0.00	77	0.064	0.59	86	46.8
-Alaskan pollock	0.174	96	0.00	6	0.055	0.28	73	43.4
Sablefish	10.328	63	0.00	45	0.028	1.64	71	46.8
Salmon
-Atlantic salmon (farmed)	4.432	63	0.00	15	0.049	0.34	30	41.4
-Chinook salmon (wild)	5.742	85	0.00	28	0.053	0.91	122	46.8
-chum (keta) salmon (wild)	1.976	95	0.00	14	0.071	0.71	28	46.8
-coho salmon (wild)	1.581	55	0.00	45	0.071	0.61	33	38.0
-coho salmon (farmed)	3.618	63	0.00	12	0.089	0.39	34	14.1
-pink salmon (wild)	1.197	67	0.00	17	0.099	0.99	33	57.2
-sockeye (red) salmon (wild)	5.290	87	0.00	7	0.067	0.55	31	37.8
Salmon, canned
-chum (keta) (unsalted)	1.919	39	0.00	249	0.100	0.70	30	43.3
-pink (unsalted)	1.825	23	0.00	211	0.084	1.07	31	33.2
-sockeye (red) (unsalted)	4.385	25	0.00	228	0.069	0.89	28	35.4
-sockeye (red) (salted)	3.162	25	0.00	228	0.069	0.89	28	35.4
Sardines, Atlantic (canned with oil)	3.869	142	0.00	382	0.186	2.92	39	52.7
Scallops, bay and sea (steamed)	0.068	53	0.00	115	0.300	3.00	55	27.9
Shrimp, mixed species (boiled or steamed)	0.197	195	0.00	39	0.193	3.09	34	39.6
Snow crab (boiled or steamed)	0.328	71	0.00	33	0.621	2.88	63	44.4
Tilapia	0.955	57	0.00	14	0.075	0.69	34	54.4
Trout, rainbow (farmed)	2.096	68	0.00	86	0.061	0.33	32	15.0
Tuna, canned
-Light tuna (in water, unsalted)	0.160	30	0.00	11	0.051	1.53	27	80.4
-Light tuna (in oil, salted)	2.949	18	0.00	13	0.071	1.39	31	76.0
-White tuna (albacore) (in water, unsalted)	0.784	42	0.00	14	0.039	0.97	33	65.7
-White tuna (albacore) (in oil, salted)	3.262	31	0.00	4	0.130	0.65	34	60.1
Turbot, Greenland	10.742	59	0.00	4	0.038	0.85	33	46.8

Nutritional Value of Selected Types of Seafood - continued

	Nutrient content (per 100 grams cooked)
Species of Seafood	Zinc (mg)	Potassium (mg)	Sodium (mg)	Vitamin A, RAE (µg)	Vitamin B6 (mg)	Vitamin B12 (µg)	Vitamin C (mg)	Vitamin D (µg)
Anchovy (canned in olive oil)	2.44	544	3668	12	0.203	0.88	0.0	1.730
Arctic char	0.60	-	50	90	-	-	-	3.720
Blue mussels (boiled or steamed)	2.67	268	369	91	0.100	24.00	13.6	0.280
Capelin/Smelt	2.12	372	77	17	0.170	3.97	0.0	1.000
Cod
-Atlantic, scrod	0.58	244	78	14	0.283	1.05	1.0	0.700
-Pacific, gray	0.51	517	91	10	0.462	1.04	3.0	-
Flatfish (flounder, sole or plaice)	0.63	344	105	13	0.240	2.51	0.0	1.500
Haddock	0.48	399	87	19	0.346	1.39	0.0	0.290
Hake	0.53	434	132	34	0.180	2.60	0.0	-
Halibut, Atlantic or Pacific	0.53	576	69	54	0.397	1.37	0.0	4.800
Herring
-Atlantic herring	1.27	419	115	36	0.348	13.14	0.7	5.400
-Pacific herring	0.68	542	95	35	0.519	9.62	0.0	-
Lake whitefish (baked)	0.49	392	44	11	0.346	0.96	0.0	15.000
Lobster, Atlantic (boiled or steamed)	2.92	352	380	26	0.077	3.11	0.0	-
Mackerel, Atlantic	0.94	401	83	54	0.460	19.00	0.4	2.600
Monkfish	0.53	513	23	14	0.277	1.04	1.0	-
Oysters
-Atlantic oysters (farmed)	45.15	152	163	19	0.076	24.30	6.0	-
-Atlantic oysters (wild)	73.60	168	244	0	0.096	27.80	4.1	8.000
-Pacific oysters (boiled or steamed)	33.24	302	212	146	0.090	28.80	12.8	8.000
Perch
-Pacific ocean perch (Pacific rockfish)	0.53	520	77	71	0.270	1.20	0.0	1.700
-Atlantic ocean perch (Redfish)	0.61	350	96	14	0.270	1.15	0.8	-
Pollock
-Atlantic pollock	0.60	456	110	12	0.331	3.68	0.0	1.900
-Alaskan pollock	0.60	387	116	25	0.069	4.20	0.0	2.500
Sablefish	0.41	459	72	102	0.346	1.44	0.0	-
Salmon
-Atlantic salmon (farmed)	0.43	384	61	15	0.647	2.80	3.7	6.800
-Chinook salmon (wild)	0.56	505	60	149	0.462	2.87	4.1	22.600
-chum (keta) salmon (wild)	0.60	550	64	34	0.462	3.46	0.0	18.700
-coho salmon (wild)	0.56	434	58	38	0.568	5.00	1.4	16.900
-coho salmon (farmed)	0.47	460	52	59	0.568	3.17	1.5	-
-pink salmon (wild)	0.71	414	86	41	0.231	3.46	0.0	25.500
-sockeye (red) salmon (wild)	0.51	375	66	63	0.219	5.80	0.0	22.600
Salmon, canned
-chum (keta) (unsalted)	1.00	300	75	18	0.380	4.40	0.0	5.600
-pink (unsalted)	0.76	333	75	17	0.210	3.48	0.3	14.525
-sockeye (red) (unsalted)	0.77	349	62	53	0.240	3.50	0.0	19.500
-sockeye (red) (salted)	0.77	349	415	53	0.240	3.62	0.0	19.500
Sardines, Atlantic (canned with oil)	1.31	397	505	32	0.167	8.94	0.0	2.330
Scallops, bay and sea (steamed)	3.00	476	265	30	0.100	1.30	0.0	0.000
Shrimp, mixed species (boiled or steamed)	1.56	182	224	68	0.127	1.49	2.2	tr
Snow crab (boiled or steamed)	3.59	200	691	52	0.173	10.38	7.2	-
Tilapia	0.41	380	56	0	0.123	1.86	0.0	-
Trout, rainbow (farmed)	0.49	441	42	86	0.396	4.97	3.3	6.390
Tuna, canned
-Light tuna (in water, unsalted)	0.77	237	50	-	0.350	2.99	0.0	0.920
-Light tuna (in oil, salted)	0.90	207	354	23	0.110	2.20	0.0	0.920
-White tuna (albacore) (in water, unsalted)	0.48	237	50	6	0.217	1.17	0.0	2.000
-White tuna (albacore) (in oil, salted)	0.47	333	396	5	0.430	2.20	0.0	2.000
Turbot, Greenland	0.51	344	103	18	0.485	0.96	0.0	19.000

Source: Canadian Nutrient File, 2007b, March 2008. The nutrient content of the foods shown is an average and will vary somewhat according to the species, source and other factors. Unless otherwise indicated, the cooking method is "baked or broiled".

a Total 18:3 fatty acids (includes omega-3 [alpha-linolenic acid] and omega-6 [gamma-linolenic acid]), except for one case (Tilapia), as marked by an asterisk. For seafood, the total 18:3 fatty acid content consists mainly or entirely of alpha-linolenic acid but no analysis has been done for most species.

b Total 18:2 fatty acids (includes linoleic acid and conjugated linoleic acid). For seafood the total 18:2 fatty acid content consists mainly or entirely of linoleic acid but no analysis has been done for these species.

- No data available
tr trace
DHA Docosahexaenoic acid (22:6n-3)
EPA Eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3)
ALA Alpha-linolenic acid (18:3n-3)
AA Arachidonic acid (20:4n-6)
LA Linoleic acid (18:2n-6)

Note: The nutrients chosen for comparison generally include those that would be shown in the Nutrition Facts table on a food label along with others used by the Institute of Medicine expert committee in its report, Seafood Choices: Balancing Benefits and Risks (pages 46-47). Fibre and sugars were excluded because values for the seafood options presented are zero. Trans fat was excluded because the values were not available; the content is likely to be zero.