Forum on Organic Aquaculture
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Thought this was an interesting tidbit of news
All quotes are from Laura Cutland’s Intrafish 12/12/03 article “FDA to revise advisory draft on mercury in seafood” © 2003, IntraFish Media. Reprinted with permission. IntraFish Media is the leading provider of daily, global seafood business news at http://www.intrafish.com
”The FDA is planning to release a list of fish that are save to eat; providing specific advice about portion sizes; and publishing three separate advisories for pregnant women and those of childbearing age, children and the general population.
The committee is also expected to recommend that the FDA conduct more research on methyl mercury levels in fish (mainly tuna) and the impact that its advisories have on consumer behaviour”. In fact “some consumer organizations pushing for an outright ban on the fish for vulnerable populations.”
“The latest draft also recommends that the population limit its consumption of locally caught fish to six ounces per week in lieu of specific local advisories and to "mix up the types of fish and shellfish you eat and do not eat the same type of fish and shellfish more than once a week." In the most recent draft, the FDA kept its original warning to pregnant women and those of childbearing age to avoid eating tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel. It also left unchanged its advice to eat 12 ounces of a variety of other fish per week.”
”However, the new advisory does address tuna consumption. The FDA informs pregnant women and those of childbearing age that albacore tuna and fresh tuna steaks contain higher levels of methyl mercury than light tuna but states that "you can safely include tuna as part of your weekly fish consumption." This information is not contained in the main body of the guidelines but in a 'frequently asked questions' section.”
Presently none of the members of the Pacific Organic Seafood Association is raising any of the high mercury spieces; tilefish, shark, swordfish and king mackerel.
On of the advantages of farming these species rather than capturing them from the wild would be that the farmed variety of these fish would be very low in mercury, ie. as farmers we have control of the inputs. This, is much like farming other animals and crops. Control of the inputs to a large extent dictates the outcome.
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