Comprehensive evaluation of fatty acids in foods. VIII. Finfish.

Recent (since 1960) data on the lipid content and fatty acid composition of fish were surveyed as part of the continuing USDA program to provide information on the nutrient composition of foods. Tabulated values of total lipid and fatty acids in finfish are presented. The most prominent fatty acids occurring in finfish are palmitic (C16:0), C18:1 (in some species C20:1 and C22:1), and the highly polyunsaturated C20:5 and C22:6. The general nutritional value of finfish is discussed. Two measures of polyunsaturation are presented for some commercially important domestic finfish: the total amount of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PFA) and the relative degree of polyunsaturation (PI).