Popular Sushi Fish Loaded With Mercury
Environment News Service, January 23, 2006
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jan2006/2006-01-23-09.asp#anchor1

FOREST KNOLLS, California, January 23, 2006 (ENS) - Revised data just
released by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) shows that bigeye
tuna, called ahi, is high in mercury, averaging 0.639 ppm of mercury. The
highest mercury test result in ahi exceeded the FDA's 1.0 ppm action level.
Sushi and tuna steaks of bigeye tuna are commonly sold as ahi in restaurants
and stores.

The FDA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) already warn
women and children to restrict their consumption of albacore tuna (0.357
parts per million, or ppm, or mercury) because of the dangers of
methylmercury, a powerful neurotoxin, but currently fail to do so for
bigeye. Ahi has nearly twice as much mercury as albacore on average.
"The only responsible action for the FDA is to revise their warnings and
alert the public. At this time, the FDA has failed to post a press release
about the new data on their web site," said Todd Steiner, executive director
of Turtle Island Restoration Network and its GotMercury.org program.
"The updated FDA data shows that the FDA should immediately revise its March
2004 mercury in seafood advisory to include ahi as a fish for women and
children to avoid," said Eli Saddler, attorney and public health analyst for
GotMercury.Org.

By comparison, the FDA and EPA warn women and children not to eat king
mackerel (0.730 ppm), swordfish (0.97 ppm), shark (0.988 ppm), and tilefish
(1.45 ppm).

Bigeye tuna, Thunnus obesus, is one of the two species known as ahi in
Hawaii and is a popular seafood item, especially in sushi restaurants.
Consumers are at risk from eating ahi - usually as fresh tuna steaks and in
sushi - and should be aware of the risks of consuming too much ahi,
especially women who are or intend to become pregnant and children.
Children are especially vulnerable to methylmercury, the toxic organic form
found in fish, because it can harm neurological development ­ resulting
lower IQ, heart irregularities, and motor skill problems.

"GotMercury.Org is updating our mercury-in-seafood calculator today so that
consumers will have the best available, latest data for calculating their
risk from methylmercury in ahi and other fish," said Saddler.

"Eating tuna is like playing Russian Roulette because the FDA does not test
and remove individual fish determined to have mercury levels above the
action level of 1 ppm, like Canada and the European Union do," said Saddler.
"Without regular testing and action by the FDA, there is no way to know how
much mercury you are ingesting with the individual fish you purchase."

"While affordable, rapid testing of fish for mercury exists, neither the
government nor most seafood retailers are using it yet in the U.S., but
GotMercury.Org and Turtle Island are calling upon both the FDA and large
retailers to start using the new technology immediately to protect public
health," said Steiner.

GotMercury.Org, a free, online mercury-in-seafood calculator will be revised
to reflect the FDA's updated mercury in tuna data. GotMercury.Org educates
consumers on healthier seafood choices by using the EPA and FDA data to
calculate how much seafood is safe to eat in a week.

For example, a 130 pound woman who ate just one eight ounce ahi steak this
week would exceed her EPA safe level of mercury by about 350 percent. A
child of 40 pounds, eating the same ahi steak this week, would exceed the
EPA safe level of mercury by about 1,139 percent. Such a level in the child
would far exceed the uncertainty factor used in calculating the FDA's level.
The FDA's revised Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish chart is
online at: http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html

GotMercury.org is a project of the Mercury Education and Response Campaign
of Turtle Island Restoration Network online at: www.seaturtles.org