A NUMBER of restaurants and retailers in different parts of the country have started testing the fish they sell in response to concerns about the amount of mercury in seafood, and the Environmental Protection Agency is beginning to examine the mercury content in fish sold in the New York City region.

The regional office of the federal agency, which began the study because the city found high levels of mercury in the blood of New Yorkers last spring, will examine the 20 most commonly eaten fish in the region, including tuna.

Recent laboratory tests reported last week in The New York Times found so much mercury in some sushi made with tuna, particularly bluefin, that a long-term diet of even two or three pieces a week would exceed the levels considered acceptable by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The National Fisheries Institute, a trade association for the seafood industry, said it was sending fish sellers leaflets offering information on seafood safety. Some retailers said they also received faxes from the institute criticizing the article in The Times.

Mary Anne Hansan, the vice president of the National Fisheries Institute, said it was sending out the leaflets because "what we are hearing is a lot of consumer confusion about what to believe when it comes to seafood." The association, she said, is letting people know about "the well-documented benefits" of seafood.

The group said that the mercury levels found in seafood eaten in the United States did not present a health risk. But many scientists suggest that it is best for people to choose fish with low mercury levels and high levels of beneficial fatty acids.

A chain of five stores in New York, Gourmet Garage, sold tuna that in the Times test had mercury concentrations above one part per million, the Food and Drug Administration's "action level," at which the fish can be taken off the market. The company said it would now carry only yellowfin tuna with no more than 0.4 parts per million. Yellowfin tuna is generally lower in mercury than bluefin.

The company's seafood is tested for mercury by Micro Analytical Systems, in San Rafael, Calif. The test it uses takes only a minute, Micro Analytical Systems said, allowing it to test fish before it reaches the consumer. Other mercury tests take four to five days or longer, so the results are typically useful mostly for future purchasing decisions.

Some stores said they were not changing their patterns of ordering fish, although they noted some lessening interest in tuna sushi. At Eli's Manhattan, on New York's Upper East Side, sales of tuna sushi were down 30 percent in the past week, said Joe Catalano, manager of the fish department.

Full Story: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/30/dining/30mercury.html?_r=2&oref=slogin&oref=slogin