Worse than just a fishy problem

VIC LEIPZIG AND LOU MURRAY

What is the truth about mercury in fish?

You probably already know that the Food and Drug Administration

recommends that you limit your intake of certain fish such as

swordfish and shark due to concerns about mercury. Now there are new

concerns about canned tuna, especially albacore tuna.

Generally, we prefer albacore tuna over chuck light tuna because

albacore tuna are caught on lines, not nets, and thus are considered

the more environmentally friendly choice. We may have to rethink that

choice.

Recent tests by the FDA showed that the mercury content of canned

albacore tuna is 0.26 parts per million. That’s three times higher

than the mercury levels in canned light tuna. An FDA advisory from

March of this year begins with the many known health benefits of

eating fish, but goes on to recommend that people eat no more than 12

ounces of fish a week due to concerns over mercury. They also

recommend eating no more than six ounces of albacore tuna or tuna

steaks.

When Vic and I make tuna sandwiches, we use one six-ounce can of

tuna to make two sandwiches. That means that we’re eating only 3

ounces of tuna apiece. However, we may eat tuna sandwiches twice a

week, plus a nice piece of broiled salmon or other fish once a week.

If we make our sandwiches with albacore tuna, then we’re already at

our weekly limit for mercury consumption.

Fortunately, salmon have what are considered “safe” levels of

mercury. Other fish and shellfish with low levels of mercury (below

0.16 parts per million) are catfish, cod, crab, flounder, mackerel,

pollock and shrimp. Fishsticks are generally made with whitefish such

as cod and pollock, and are thus also low in mercury. We feel pretty

safe eating these fish and shellfish.

But what about eating swordfish and shark kebobs? According to

figures from the Environmental Protection Agency, swordfish contains

0.95 ppm of mercury, king mackerel contains 0.97 ppm, shark contains

1.3 ppm and tilefish contains a whopping 1.6 ppm. We haven’t eaten

swordfish in many years, and haven’t had shark more than once every

five years. Based on those new FDA guidelines, we’re probably safe

from mercury exposure. Or are we?

A recent book by Robert Kennedy Jr., “Crimes Against Nature: How

George W. Bush and his corporate pals are plundering the country and

hijacking our democracy,” casts serious doubt on those FDA

recommendations. According to Kennedy, the tuna industry lobbyists

pressured the FDA and EPA into watering down the original warning.

The FDA advisory committee had recommended that children and women of

child-bearing years not eat any albacore tuna and that they eat far

less than 12 ounces of canned light tuna a week. In fact, one member

of the advisory committee quit in protest over the watered-down

warnings on tuna consumption.

A look at where the mercury in that tuna comes from might prove

revealing. Two to three thousand tons of mercury a year are put into

the air by burning industrial waste and fossil fuels. The mercury is

washed into the ocean by rain. There it is converted to methylmercury

by bacteria. The methylmercury can be absorbed by fish through their

gills. It concentrates going up the food chain as larger fish eat

smaller fish.

While some mercury washes out of the soil naturally, much of the

mercury contamination in fish comes from coal-fired power plants. And

I think we all know how the current administration in Washington

feels about regulating the power industry. When we have an

administration that puts energy company executives and lobbyists in

charge of the Environmental Protection Agency, what we get is

protection of the energy companies, not protection of the citizens

from environmental pollution.

In California, most mercury in fish comes as a byproduct of mining

operations in the days when mercury was used to help extract gold. As

a result, the Sacramento River Delta, San Francisco Bay and many

Sierra Nevada counties have mercury advisories on sport fish. There

are no such advisories on our local waters. A good source of local

fish is the dory fleet on Balboa Peninsula at Newport Pier. King

mackerel is high in mercury, but regular mackerel is very low in

mercury, while at the same time is high in healthful omega 3 oils.

We’ve had mackerel from the dory fleet and can recommend it.

Consuming too much mercury can definitely poison people. This was

demonstrated in Japan in the 1960s, when more than 200 people died or

became seriously ill with nervous system damage from eating fish from

waters contaminated by industrial waste. Subsequent testing of the

fish that caused the poisoning showed that they contained between 9

and 24 ppm mercury.

The FDA recommends that we eat no fish that contains more than 1

ppm mercury. But is that really a safe level, or were those

advisories crafted to benefit the fishing industry rather than the

consumer? Since we can’t be sure, it’s best to be cautious.

Unfortunately, the real danger is for developing fetuses, since

mercury crosses the placental barrier readily. Mercury can cause

serious neurological damage in fetuses during the early months of

pregnancy. Since mercury can accumulate in the body, women of

child-bearing age, whether they are pregnant or not, should be

cautious about consumption of fish known to be high in mercury. And

that now should include canned albacore tuna.

* VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and

environmentalists. They can be reached at [email protected].