Bad-News Bluefin

Atlantic bluefin tuna populations are being decimated, as we've talked about before. And the situation for bluefin elsewhere in the world isn't much better. That's why bluefin tuna is on the red list of the Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program -- and of nearly every other seafood advisory group, too.

Now comes another reason to skip the bluefin: It's potentially dangerous to your health. Marian Burros of the New York Times reported this week that tuna sushi sampled in New York City is laden with mercury, and eating it regularly will expose you to mercury at levels beyond what's deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Food and Drug Administration. Ten of the 13 sushi samples the Times sent in for testing contained bluefin tuna.

'Nuff said. Take bluefin off the menu, and tell your sushi chef to stop serving bluefin and other "Avoid"-list seafood.

Photo by Tony Cenicola, New York Times

Comments

[Katie]

Thanks for your post on the New York Time’s local story about mercury in sushi. Oceana, an international marine conservation organization, published an even more extensive national study on mercury levels in fresh tuna, swordfish and tilapia from supermarkets, and tuna and mackerel from sushi restaurants. The good news is that mackerel and tilapia are low-mercury fish and can be eaten safely. The bad news is that swordfish and fresh tuna have high levels of mercury and consumers should be leery.

The Food and Drug Administration has recommended that women of childbearing age and children completely avoid eating swordfish and limit consumption of fresh tuna to six ounces or less a week. Even if people are familiar with this advice concerning mercury, they probably don’t readily carry it while dining out or shopping for their weekly groceries. Additionally, Oceana’s study found that 87 percent of seafood counter attendants couldn’t provide shoppers with the FDA warning, so you shouldn’t rely on them to give you the government advice either.

Posting signs in grocery stores would provide this crucial information in a way that is accessible and easily understood. Major grocery companies like Kroger, Safeway and Albertsons are posting the FDA advice at their seafood counters. Still other grocers, like Costco, Publix and A&P, refuse to post a sign and give this important information to their customers. There is no reason to cut seafood totally out of your diet, but it is important to know what kinds of fish are potentially harmful and how to avoid them. Check out Oceana’s new report and get the full story at http://www.oceana.org/mercury.