Women who are pregnant, nursing, or may become pregnant and also young children should be particularly cautious about which kinds of seafood they eat.

Excessive amounts of mercury in the bloodstream of fetuses and young children can damage their developing nervous systems.

As a result, the EPA recommends that these women and young children should avoid eating swordfish, king mackerel, shark, and tilefish due to their mercury content. Instead, eat up to 12 ounces weekly of lower-mercury fish including canned light tuna (which has less mercury than albacore tuna), salmon, pollock, catfish, and shrimp.

For middle-aged and older men and women past menopause, eating fish twice a week, of a variety of types, offers benefits that outweigh the potential risks, according to the AHA. Mackerel, lake trout, salmon, herring, and sardines are high in two kinds of omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3s can reduce your risk of arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats), lower your triglycerides, and slow the growth of plaque in your arteries, according to the AHA. Removing the skin and surface fat from fish before cooking can reduce some contaminants.

For more information, visit the EPA at: www.epa.gov/waterscience/fish/advice/

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