Mercury rising: our seafood is increasingly contaminated with toxins

E: The Environmental Magazine, July-August, 1998 by Becky Gillette

"People who eat fish are being forced to make sense out of complicated and sometimes contradictory warnings, and to calculate for themselves how many servings of different kinds of fish are safe to eat. People who are catching their own fish, either through sport or subsistence fishing, need to find out if state or county health departments have issued advisories. That will tell them what species and what areas are more likely to be contaminated, and that they should either avoid or limit their consumption."

While fish caught in contaminated waterways are of concern, tuna in the can is considered the biggest risk because of its wide availability and consumption. Testing by the FDA revealed that 100 percent of samples of oil-packed tuna contained mercury. The FDA also found mercury in the other most common seafood available at the supermarket: It's in about 90 percent of commercial haddock and shrimp, and in 75 percent of frozen fish sticks.

Toxins in fish can also poison birds, marine mammals and other wildlife, and are an indication that persistent toxic chemicals are accumulating in the environment.

What You Can Do

Consumers who want to eat fish without fear should voice their concerns about mercury and other pollutants to elected officials on the state and federal level. They should urge the reduction of emissions from power plants, and the closure of incinerators that release dioxins, PCBs and mercury. It is possible to re verse this trend: Cleanups of contaminated waterway sediments remove the pollution, so it is no longer avail able to the bottom feeders (like catfish, for example) which pass it along up the food chain. States should also be encouraged to improve monitoring, and do a better job informing the public about fish advisories.

Sportsmen should avoid fishing in waters that have advisories--and be careful about what they take home to eat. (In general, smaller and younger fish, with plant-based diets, are less contaminated than big carnivores like tuna and swordfish.)

And don't think you're safe because your fish was "farm-raised." Airborne mercury deposited in steams and rivers can also land on a fish farm pond. And there are other concerns about aquaculture, such as use of antibiotics and other feed additives at fish farms.

This cautionary information shouldn't steer you away from eating seafood altogether. But women of childbearing age and young children should eat tuna only in moderation, and make informed choices about other seafood. Discretion is advised. CONTACT: Natural Resources Defense Council, 40 West 20th Street, New York, NY 10011/(212)727-4486. The Contaminated Catch report is on the web at http://www.nrdc.org/nrdcpro/catch/ccinx. html. Catching the Limit: Mercury Contamination of America's Food can be ordered from Environmental Working Group, 1718 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009/(202)667-6982.

BECKY GILLETTE is a freelance writer in Ocean Springs, MS.