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Mercury in Fish vs. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Health Benefits

Part 2 of 2

By Tim Fitzpatrick

But I'm pregnant and I love to eat fish.

The last scenario had women of childbearing age increasing fish consumption. As a result, a minor decrease in heart disease and mortality was seen. There was also a slight decrease in IQ, approximately .07 points per child.

Action Plans

The researchers agree that because of the nutritional value of fish, communicating risk efforts to women of childbearing age is paramount. It is important that they alter the type of fish they eat, rather than the amount. In addition, communicating this risk while maintaining or increasing fish consumption in other populations is ideal. The researchers go on to say that if somehow all adults, even women of childbearing age consumed eight ounces of salmon a week, annual heart disease would drop by nearly 20,000 cases. On top of that, eating this low methylmercury fish would contribute to a drop in nonfatal strokes by 4,000 and a 0.5 IQ point increase per child. In all likelihood, women of childbearing age will probably associate dangers of mercury in all fish and therefore decrease total fish consumption. If the elderly decrease their fish consumption, then the risk of heart disease and stroke, as noted in scenario three, would increase by 17%. To reach these conclusions, the researchers convened a panel of experts who measured QALY (Quality Adjusted Life Years). This mathematical model measures life years gained or lost due to the shifting consumption of fish and is used as a common metric to make the findings comparable. The researchers do admit that each scenario could be under or over estimated as it relates to actual numbers but they are confident of the fact that the trend does support their argument. The researchers couldn't overstate enough that risk managers need to be careful when issuing warnings about fish consumption.

Fish Sustainability and the Environment

Since it has been well reported that catches of wild fish are near or at maximum, in order to sustain this increase in fish consumption, aquaculture must be the vehicle. This method of production does have many potential environmental impacts. Shrimp farms have taken an enormous toll on coastal habitats with mangrove swamps being cleared for production in Africa and Southeast Asia. Aquaculture can also lead to water pollution as fish feces, uneaten food, and organic debris can cause algal blooms in nearby coastal and river waters. Methods are improving and new technologies are constantly being brought to light to combat this problem.

Reaction from the Fishing Industry

Based on the research findings, the U.S. Tuna foundation, in a press release, has called for an end to the "politicization" of the mercury issue stating that scaring people away from eating fish is detrimental to overall public health. They feel the benefits of including seafood into a healthy diet far outweigh any potential risk of methylmercury.

Conclusion

The public is concerned with high mercury levels in fish such as tuna, swordfish, and shark which could hinder prenatal brain development. However, eating fish is a part of a healthy lifestyle that includes the substantial benefits garnered from Omega-3 Fatty Acids. A diet void of Omega-3 Fatty Acids could be a risky adventure leading to heart disease and/or stroke. Pregnant women can consume low mercury level fish such as salmon and shrimp as an alternative to some of the high level species. Men and women in other age groups should be aware of the nutritional benefits of fish, specifically the role Omega-3 Fatty Acids play in disease prevention.

Editorial Comment from the Editor in Chief

Eating fish is an important part of our diet, unfortunately as a society we are polluting this important resource via mercury laden emissions from our coal fired power plants, factories, etc. (related article). People shouldn't be forced to choose between the health risks associated with toxins released via industrial pollution and the nutritional benefits from things like Omega-3 Fatty Acids in the foods we eat. As a society we must demand greater accountability with our industrial practices and take seriously the damage we are doing to our environment and our long term health.

Measured Mercury Concentrations in Various Species of Commercial Fish and Shellfish

Species	Mercury Concentration (PPM)				# Samples	Source of Data
	MEAN	MEDIAN	MIN	MAX
Fish and Shellfish With Highest Levels of Mercury
MACKEREL KING	0.73	NA	0.23	1.67	213	Gulf of Mexico Report 2000
SHARK	0.99	0.83	ND	4.54	351	FDA Survey 1990-02
SWORDFISH	0.97	0.86	0.10	3.22	605	FDA Survey 1990-02
TILEFISH (Gulf of Mexico)	1.45	NA	0.65	3.73	60	NMFS Report 1978
Fish and Shellfish With Lower Levels of Mercury
ANCHOVIES	0.04	NA	ND	0.34	40	NMFS Report 1978
BUTTERFISH	0.06	NA	ND	0.36	89	NMFS Report 1978
CATFISH	0.05	ND	ND	0.31	22	FDA Survey 1990-02
CLAMS	ND	ND	ND	ND	6	FDA Survey 1990-02
COD	0.11	0.10	ND	0.42	20	FDA Survey 1990-03
CRAB 3	0.06	ND	ND	0.61	59	FDA Survey 1990-02
CRAWFISH	0.03	0.03	ND	0.05	21	FDA Survey 2002-03
CROAKER (Atlantic)	0.05	0.05	0.01	0.10	21	FDA Survey 1990-03
FLATFISH 2	0.05	0.04	ND	0.18	22	FDA Survey 1990-02
HADDOCK	0.03	0.04	ND	0.04	4	FDA Survey 1990-02
HAKE	0.01	ND	ND	0.05	9	FDA Survey 1990-02
HERRING	0.04	NA	ND	0.14	38	NMFS Report 1978
JACKSMELT	0.11	0.06	0.04	0.50	16	FDA Survey 1990-02
LOBSTER (Spiny)	0.09	0.14	ND	0.27	9	FDA Survey 1990-02
MACKEREL ATLANTIC (N. Atlantic)	0.05	NA	0.02	0.16	80	NMFS Report 1978
MACKEREL CHUB (Pacific)	0.09	NA	0.03	0.19	30	NMFS Report 1978
MULLET	0.05	NA	ND	0.13	191	NMFS Report 1978
OYSTERS	ND	ND	ND	0.25	34	FDA Survey 1990-02
PERCH OCEAN	ND	ND	ND	0.03	6	FDA Survey 1990-02
PICKEREL	ND	ND	ND	0.06	4	FDA Survey 1990-02
POLLOCK	0.06	ND	ND	0.78	37	FDA Survey 1990-02
SALMON (Canned)	ND	ND	ND	ND	23	FDA Survey 1990-02
SALMON (Fresh/Frozen)	0.01	ND	ND	0.19	34	FDA Survey 1990-02
SARDINE	0.02	0.01	ND	0.04	22	FDA Survey 2002-03
SCALLOPS	0.05	NA	ND	0.22	66	NMFS Report 1978
SHAD (American)	0.07	NA	ND	0.22	59	NMFS Report 1978
SHRIMP	ND	ND	ND	0.05	24	FDA Survey 1990-02
SQUID	0.07	NA	ND	0.40	200	NMFS Report 1978
TILAPIA	0.01	ND	ND	0.07	9	FDA Survey 1990-02
TROUT (Freshwater)	0.03	0.02	ND	0.13	17	FDA Survey 2002-03
TUNA (Canned, Light)	0.12	0.08	ND	0.85	131	FDA Survey 1990-03
WHITEFISH	0.07	0.05	ND	0.31	25	FDA Survey 1990-03
WHITING	ND	ND	ND	ND	2	FDA Survey 1990-02
Mercury Levels of Other Fish and Shellfish
BASS (Saltwater)1	0.27	0.15	0.06	0.96	35	FDA SURVEY 1990-03
BLUEFISH	0.31	0.30	0.14	0.63	22	FDA Survey 2002-03
BUFFALOFISH	0.19	0.14	0.05	0.43	4	FDA Survey 1990-02
CARP	0.14	0.14	0.01	0.27	2	FDA Survey 1990-02
CROAKER WHITE (Pacific)	0.29	0.28	0.18	0.41	15	FDA Survey 1990-03
GROUPER	0.55	0.44	0.07	1.21	22	FDA Survey 2002-03
HALIBUT	0.26	0.20	ND	1.52	32	FDA Survey 1990-02
LOBSTER (Northern/American)	0.31	NA	0.05	1.31	88	NMFS Report 1978
MACKEREL SPANISH (Gulf of Mexico)	0.45	NA	0.07	1.56	66	NMFS Report 1978
MACKEREL SPANISH (South Atlantic)	0.18	NA	0.05	0.73	43	NMFS Report 1978
MARLIN	0.49	0.39	0.10	0.92	16	FDA Survey 1990-02
MONKFISH	0.18	NA	0.02	1.02	81	NMFS Report 1978
ORANGE ROUGHY	0.54	0.56	0.30	0.80	26	FDA Survey 1990-03
PERCH (Freshwater)	0.14	0.15	ND	0.31	5	FDA Survey 1990-02
SABLEFISH	0.22	NA	ND	0.70	102	NMFS Report 1978
SCORPIONFISH	0.29	NA	0.02	1.35	78	NMFS Report 1978
SHEEPSHEAD	0.13	NA	0.02	0.63	59	NMFS Report 1978
SKATE	0.14	NA	0.04	0.36	56	NMFS Report 1978
SNAPPER	0.19	0.12	ND	1.37	25	FDA Survey 2002-03
TILEFISH (Atlantic)	0.15	0.10	0.06	0.53	17	FDA Survey 2002-03
TUNA (Canned, Albacore)	0.35	0.34	ND	0.85	179	FDA Survey 1990-03
TUNA (Fresh/Frozen)	0.38	0.30	ND	1.30	131	FDA Survey 1990-02
WEAKFISH (Sea Trout)	0.25	0.16	ND	0.74	27	FDA Survey 1990-03
Based on table from FDA/Center for Food Safety & Applied Nutrition (http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html) Notes * Mercury was measured as Total Mercury and/or Methylmercury ND - mercury concentration below the Level of Detection (LOD=0.01ppm) NA - data not available 1 Includes: Sea bass/ Striped Bass/ Rockfish 2 Includes: Flounder, Plaice, Sole 3 Includes: Blue, King, Snow Source of data FDA Surveys 1990-2003 "National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource" Report 1978 "The Occurrence of Mercury in the Fishery Resources of the Gulf of Mexico" Report 2000 Market share calculation based on 2001 National Marine Fisheries Service published landings data

Related Articles

• Norwegian farmed salmon production raises global concern - May 31, 2006
  The quality of Norwegian farmed salmon has recently come into question with the Russian ban, illegal nitrate use, and a building body of evidence that consumers should limit their consumption.
• Increased Mercury Levels Attributed to Industrial Activities - Apr. 2005
  Outdated coal fired powerplants are contributing to increased mercury levels in lakes and streams.
• Clean Air Act is Contributing to the Mercury Problem - Apr. 2005
  Clean Air Act Amendments of 1970 and 1977 Set the Stage for the Mercury Calamity of the 21st Century.

Bibliography

• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1999. Toxicological profile for mercury. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service.
• Cohen, Joshua T. Bellinger, D. Connor, W. Kris-Etherton P. Lawrence, R. Savitz, D. Shaywitz B. Teutsch S., and Gray G. A Quantitative Risk-Benefit Analysis of Changes in Population Fish Consumption. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2005. Volume 29 (4).
• Environmental Protection Agency. EPA fact sheet. Mercury Update: Impact on Fish Advisories. June 2001. http://www.epa.gov/ost/fishadvice/mercupd.pdf
• TED Case Studies. Minamata Disaster. Accessed November 2005. http://www.american.edu/TED/MINAMATA.HTM
• US Department of Health and Human Services and US Environmental Protection Agency. What you Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish. March 2004. http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html
• Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation. Mercury Education Reduction Campaign. Accessed November 2005. http://www.anr.state.vt.us/dec/ead/mercury/facts/
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Tim Fitzpatrick. Mercury in Fish vs. Omega-3 Fatty Acids Health Benefits . EnvironmentalChemistry.com. Dec. 3, 2005. Accessed on-line: 12/21/2024
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