Mercury in Tuna?

[deefly]

Just heard a report the other day (and a few before) that tuna (I presume that includes Albacore) have High levels of Mercury poinsoning. And that intake should be limited. It was also hinted at that pollution was the culprit! (oh yeh, that again!) Anyone have any information on this?

[OceanBlue]

The reports that I have heard indicate that tuna (and other large game-fish) does contain a high enough level of methyl-mercury to cause some concern. The concern is largely for pregnant women and small children and the warning is to limit consumption - 2 6oz cans a week max. to be safe.

So... am I worried about it? No. I eat, on average, 1/2 lb of albacore per week. If I could have it fresh year-'round, I'd sure be eating more than that :grin:

[rcl187]

It's not only tuna that you have to worry about...it's almost every fish you can imagine. Chinook salmon (as well as herring) are near the top of the list. Mercury and most biotoxins are lipid soluble meaning that they are concentrated in the fats of the fish. The more fat in a fish the greater it's potential to hold various contaminants. As always this amount usually increases with fish age and it is also very sex dependent. Females have a high investment in their eggs and a lot of energy goes into them. With this energy go the contaminants. Because of this males tend to have higher concentrations then females. Kind of neat to know. The FDA recommends a daily maximum intake of 1ug/kg of body weight/day (Japan is set at .4ug/kg body weight/day). This includes all sources so it's actually pretty easy to exceed. The effects very greatly and there are a lot of debate about them. Many of the scientists I know that work in the toxicology field refuse to eat most sea food. I'm definitely not one of them and I know that I'm at a higher health risk then most people but it's a risk I'm willing to take. I will admit though that I watch my intake of certain species and certain harvest areas.

[steelie_on]

Check out www.monterybayaquarium.org web site. They have a whole section that discuses this issue. They also have a West Coast Seafood Guide that you can down load. The seafood danger is sort of split into two categories as far as fish to eat and fish to avoid.
Health Danger and Environmental impact.

As far as Tuna {albacore} and salmon they are some of the safest to eat. Toxins accumulate in a fish over time and fish that live a long time accumulate more toxins. Albacore and Salmon live relatively short lives, unlike say blue fin Tuna and {sorry} sturgeon.

Check out the web site…….its informative.

[Orca]

This works better - http://www.mbayaq.org/ , but difficult to find much here if you ask me.

Here is a more direct source from the horses mouth -

http://www.epa.gov/region5/air/mercu...ption%20advice

[ 04-17-2003, 06:58 AM: Message edited by: Orca ]

[Chaps]

And a recent article on a woman who lost a baby from power eating large ocean fish . . . www.smh.com

[skein]

Yep, it's best to stop eating this stuff. Salmon, albacore, lingcod, halibut, all of it. It's death in scales.

Of course I've been told not to eat butter, not to eat salt, not to eat margarine (butter is okay), don't drink milk, don't eat eggs, don't leave the spatula out by the BBQ, and for sure don't eat fish/beef/poultry/pork/ or Chinese food. It's even against the law to have eggs fixed sunny-side-up in NYC.

But, as Phil Harris said:

...Every microbe and bacillus
...has a different way to kill us
...and in the end, they'll claim us for their own,
...Now eating huckleberry pie,
...that's a pleasing way to die,
...them apple dumplings'll get you quicker than a train,
... (something, something, something - I don't remember the words)
...and saurkraut causes softening of the brain.

Tell you what I'll do. To save you from yourselves (and the toxologists), I'll take your blue-water rigging and put it in a safe place where you won't be tempted to take it out and catch these poisonous creatures. Give me a call - I'll even come by and pick it up. :grin:



Skein

[Albacore Tuna Captain]

If you drink too much water you will die too!!! That lady who had a miscarriage because of the mercury poisoning was eating LARGE OLDER fish 8 times a week. And you know how the news media will jump on a story! The facts are that if you over indulge in almost any kind of food, you can run a risk of health problems. Too much fat, boom you is fat. Too much sugar, zappo, you have diabetes. Too much carbohydrates and you can be sure it will cause you problems. And if you breath too fast, you hypoventilate. So don't worry about going out and catching and eating the Albies. They are your buddy and won't hurt you. You'll get more mercury out of drinking tap water that comes from the Santiam river. That's because the Little North Fork and the Quartzville mining districts are on tributaries and they used mercury to get gold out of the black sand and the river is full of it! But you haven't heard about that threat yet.