HEART RESEARCH MAY HELP SEAFOOD SELLERS HOOK CONSUMERS WHO ARE ... FISHING FOR HEALTH.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

Every morning, Bob Tusquellas double-knots his apron, thumbs his knife and probes his fish like a surgeon attempting to excise a tumor.

He's no doctor, but he knows his medicine.

With medical studies surfacing nearly every week providing evidence that eating fish is almost the cure-all for coronary artery disease, his decades-old fish stand at the Farmers Market - and others like it - have seen business jump.

``Now it is known that this omega-3 fatty acid found in fish is supposed to be good for your arteries. I suppose it is good for our business, too,'' said Tusquellas, standing behind an empty tray of salmon filets at $3.98 a pound.

Daily supplements of a fatty acid found in fish oil halves the risk of sudden death in heart attack survivors, according to the American Heart Association.

But it's not only the oily fish such as tuna and salmon that offer a panacea for heart problems. The American Heart Association said fish-oil supplements, rather than dietary fish oil, could offer the same therapeutic value.

That's good news for Cleopatra Usher, 50, who finds that fish oil has actually strengthened her bones and sharpened her wit.

``I've always been told that fish oil is brain food,'' she said, eyeing the white fish placed behind the lemon halves at Tusquellas'.

Usher's conviction about fish oil reaches far beyond her own body, though. Another study published in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association found that women can significantly reduce their risk of heart disease by eating fish at least twice a week. And a study last year found that women who ate fish two to four times weekly cut their risk of ischemic, or clot-related, strokes by 48 percent.

For Rick Merry, whose family has been in the seafood business since 1923, the recent school of fish studies is always welcome, especially around tax season.

Merry, owner of Holly Seafood Co. in Los Angeles, said business is down 20 percent since last year. He attributes the drought to attrition as families seek other means of income, or simply retire from the fish business.

``But I still think and at least hope, people will always have a need for top-quality fish,'' Merry said.

Even so, there's a monger in every profession that can potentially jeopardize an industry steeped in tradition. Merry, who sells most of his fish to local restaurants, said the catfish market has become highly competitive. As one of the most prolific fish raised in California, farmers outside the country are attempting to monopolize the market with cheaper prices.

Merry said a homegrown catfish costs $3.50 wholesale, while a Vietnamese catfish costs under $3.

``That's why some fish should start being labeled in terms of where they come from,'' he said. ``Even though it doesn't necessarily mean the catfish is less fresh.''

Catfish aren't the only species weighing on the industry. Fisherman who troll throughout the Gulf of California are exploiting the area, causing many species of fish to sharply decline, according to recent news reports.

Yet the dark side of the industry isn't visible through the windows of Mary Stamps' restaurant in Northridge. Her Seapreme Seafood restaurant, which opened two years ago, has seen a steady stream of customers with the myriad fish studies circulating.

``And we've had a great customer return, with grilled salmon and blackened salmon the most popular dish,'' she said. ``The secret is in the seasoning we have shipped directly to us from Louisiana.''

Willie Watanabe, manager of Fish King Seafood & Poultry Co. in Glendale, expects to see a spike in business as a result of the fish studies.

``It will probably pick up a little bit from all the reports, but then I expect it to trickle back down again,'' said Watanabe, who has been selling fish for 38 years. ``You name it, trout, salmon, swordfish - they're all going to sell.''

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5 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Salmon steaks entice shoppers at Bob Tusquellas Sea Food on Thursday in the Farmers Market in the Fairfax District.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer

(2 -- color) Fishmonger Bob Tusquellas shows off some of the healthy salmon steaks for sale at his store in the Farmers Market.

(3 -- 4 -- color) A customer, left, hardly the sole one of the day, snaps up some fresh fish Wednesday at Bob Tusquellas Sea Food. An empty tray, above, attests to the popularity of salmon, which studies have shown to contain oils good for the heart.

(5) Atlantic king salmon filets are sliced up Wednesday at Bob Tusquellas Sea Food at the Farmers Market.

David Sprague/Staff Photographer