The following is an announcment by the U.S. FDA and EPA. Scary stuff.

The EPA says most of the mercury comes from coal powered generators. What are we doing to stop this? Oh yeah, that's right, this administration just weakened Clinton era regulations designed to cut power plants emissions. On the one hand we are told don't eat much fish, on the other we tell polluters we will weaken the rules on emissions.

Note that halibut is listed as one of the fish with the highest levesl of mercury


What You Need to Know About Mercury in Fish and Shellfish
2004 EPA and FDA Advice For:
Women Who Might Become Pregnant
Woman Who are Pregnant
Nursing Mothers
Young Children

Fish and shellfish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain high-quality protein and other essential nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and contain omega-3 fatty acids. A well-balanced diet that includes a variety of fish and shellfish can contribute to heart health and children's proper growth and development. So, women and young children in particular should include fish or shellfish in their diets due to the many nutritional benefits.

However, nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of mercury. For most people, the risk from mercury by eating fish and shellfish is not a health concern. Yet, some fish and shellfish contain higher levels of mercury that may harm an unborn baby or young child's developing nervous system. The risks from mercury in fish and shellfish depend on the amount of fish and shellfish eaten and the levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish. Therefore, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are advising women who may become pregnant, pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children to avoid some types of fish and eat fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.

By following these 3 recommendations for selecting and eating fish or shellfish, women and young children will receive the benefits of eating fish and shellfish and be confident that they have reduced their exposure to the harmful effects of mercury.

1.

Do not eat Shark, Swordfish, King Mackerel, or Tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury.
2.

Eat up to 12 ounces (2 average meals) a week of a variety of fish and shellfish that are lower in mercury.
*

Five of the most commonly eaten fish that are low in mercury are shrimp, canned light tuna, salmon, pollock, and catfish.
*

Another commonly eaten fish, albacore ("white") tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. So, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of albacore tuna per week.
3.

Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local lakes, rivers, and coastal areas. If no advice is available, eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don't consume any other fish during that week.

Follow these same recommendations when feeding fish and shellfish to your young child, but serve smaller portions.
Frequently Asked Questions about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish:

1.

"What is mercury and methylmercury?"
Mercury occurs naturally in the environment and can also be released into the air through industrial pollution. Mercury falls from the air and can accumulate in streams and oceans and is turned into methylmercury in the water. It is this type of mercury that can be harmful to your unborn baby and young child. Fish absorb the methylmercury as they feed in these waters and so it builds up in them. It builds up more in some types of fish and shellfish than others, depending on what the fish eat, which is why the levels vary.
2.

"I'm a woman who could have children but I'm not pregnant - so why should I be concerned about methylmercury?"
If you regularly eat types of fish that are high in methylmercury, it can accumulate in your blood stream over time. Methylmercury is removed from the body naturally, but it may take over a year for the levels to drop significantly. Thus, it may be present in a woman even before she becomes pregnant. This is the reason why women who are trying to become pregnant should also avoid eating certain types of fish.
3.

"Is there methylmercury in all fish and shellfish?"
Nearly all fish and shellfish contain traces of methylmercury. However, larger fish that have lived longer have the highest levels of methylmercury because they've had more time to accumulate it. These large fish (swordfish, shark, king mackerel and tilefish) pose the greatest risk. Other types of fish and shellfish may be eaten in the amounts recommended by FDA and EPA.
4.

"I don't see the fish I eat in the advisory. What should I do?"
If you want more information about the levels in the various types of fish you eat, see the FDA food safety website http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html or the EPA website at http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish.
5.

"What about fish sticks and fast food sandwiches?"
Fish sticks and "fast-food" sandwiches are commonly made from fish that are low in mercury.
6.

"The advice about canned tuna is in the advisory, but what's the advice about tuna steaks?"
Because tuna steak generally contains higher levels of mercury than canned light tuna, when choosing your two meals of fish and shellfish, you may eat up to 6 ounces (one average meal) of tuna steak per week.
7.

"What if I eat more than the recommended amount of fish and shellfish in a week?"
One week's consumption of fish does not change the level of methylmercury in the body much at all. If you eat a lot of fish one week, you can cut back for the next week or two. Just make sure you average the recommended amount per week.
8.

"Where do I get information about the safety of fish caught recreationally by family or friends?"
Before you go fishing, check your Fishing Regulations Booklet for information about recreationally caught fish. You can also contact your local health department for information about local advisories. You need to check local advisories because some kinds of fish and shellfish caught in your local waters may have higher or much lower than average levels of mercury. This depends on the levels of mercury in the water in which the fish are caught. Those fish with much lower levels may be eaten more frequently and in larger amounts.

For further information about the risks of mercury in fish and shellfish call the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's food information line toll-free at 1-888-SAFEFOOD or visit FDA's Food Safety website http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/seafood1.html

For further information about the safety of locally caught fish and shellfish, visit the Environmental Protection Agency's Fish Advisory website http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish or contact your State or Local Health Department. A list of state or local health department contacts is available at http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish. Click on Federal, State, and Tribal Contacts. For information on EPA's actions to control mercury, visit EPA's mercury website at http://www.epa.gov/mercury.

One more reason to do away with commercial fishing.

I heard WILD STEELHEAD are the most dangerous for anyone to eat and should just be released because of the toxic dangers involved in eating one.

Pretty bleak report, and disappointing. It may be good for us to remember things like this when we vote......

And no, I am not blaming this administration only for the state of heavy metals and PCBs in fish tissue, it is just a comment on how we continue to mess where we eat, literally and politacally.

Well I guess DV's report on Halibut should decrease the competition and pressure on the 'Hali' opener in May. :rolleyes:

So which is it, mad cow or mercury???

While I make no claim to any real scientific knowledge on the matter, it seems to me the bigger, older fish are the most problematic. If so keeping the smaller 15-40 lb fish might be best. I have always thought they were the best eating anyway.

But I wonder if a 40 lb male might be the same age as a 150 lb female? Can any of you fish biologist help me out there?

Holy Haddock Dave ! :p

The sky is falling again!


Here's another view:

The Food and Drug Administration just issued a new warning to pregnant women about mercury in seafood. You can "protect your baby" from developmental harm by following three rules, claims the FDA.

But there’s no evidence that the rules will protect anyone and they’re only likely to foster undue concern about an important part of our food supply.

"Do no eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish because they contain high levels of mercury," is the FDA’s first rule.

It’s certainly true that such larger fish tend to have higher levels of mercury in their tissue since mercury levels tend to accumulate up the food chain. But unless women are consuming fish that have been exposed to industrial-level concentrations of mercury for extended periods of time - as Japanese women in the vicinity of Minamata Bay did during the 1950s - it’s not at all clear that consuming large fish is any sort of health risk.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health recently reported in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (Feb. 2002) that they could not find mercury-related health effects among a group of regular swordfish consumers.

Although a "significant relationship between fish consumption and blood mercury concentrations" was identified by the researchers, "higher blood mercury concentrations were, however, not associated with specific patterns of health complaints."

There is also no evidence of a general threat to infants and children from typical maternal consumption of fish with typical mercury concentrations.

"No evidence of adverse effect from either pre- or post-natal exposure to methyl mercury," is how Thomas W. Carson of the University of Rochester School of Medicine characterizes the results of an ongoing study of children in the Seychelles Islands.

In fact, "a surprising finding in the results of the examination of children at 66 months of age was that several [intelligence] tests scores improved as either pre- or post-natal mercury levels increased... linear regression analysis reveals statistically significant beneficial correlations," noted Dr. Carson.

That’s exactly the opposite situation of what the FDA claims as the basis of its warning!

Aside from Minamata Bay, not a single clinical case of mercury poisoning associated with fish consumption is to be found in the scientific literature, according to Dr. Carson.

It seems the FDA is warning (scaring?) us about a scenario that has, essentially, never occurred.

The FDA’s other two rules are similarly not grounded in science.

"Levels of mercury in other fish can vary. You can safely eat up to 12 ounces (two to three meals) of other purchased fish and shellfish per week. Mix up the types of fish and shell fish you eat and do not eat the same type of fish and shellfish more than once a week," warns the FDA’s second rule.

Now where did the 12 ounces-per-week figure come from? Is there evidence that consuming 13 ounces per week - or for that matter, 130 ounces per week - is dangerous? Is there evidence that eating the same type of fish and shellfish more than once a week is harmful?

The FDA’s 12 ounces-per-week rule is simply arbitrary.

The third FDA rule reads, "Check local advisories about the safety of fish caught by family and friends in your local rivers and streams. If no advice is available, you can safely eat up to 6 ounces (one meal) per week of fish you catch from local waters, but don’t consume any other fish during that week."

The FDA apparently wants us to think that any given local body of water is potentially a Minamata Bay situation, where tons of mercury were dumped into the water over the course of two decades. But even if such situations existed in the U.S. - and they never have - the Minamata Bay mercury poisoning victims no doubt consumed much more fish than one six-ounce meal per week.

Seafood is most definitely part of a healthy diet. Further, the seafood industry is a large part of our economy. Unless the FDA has a science-based health warning to issue, it ought to clam up.

Makes me feel pity for the people who ended up eating that big halibut that was caught in Alaska not too long ago. I bet that fishy was chock full of metals and other nasty chemicals.
My freezer wouldn't fit big fish anyhow, so it all works out well with the smaller fish.