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| Healthy Housing and Environment Team |
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Healthy Housing and Environment Team
MERCURY IN FISH
The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, issued warnings about mercury levels in swordfish since 1986. Recently we discovered the problems of mercury in freshwater fish. Rhode Island Department of Health wants all Rhode Islanders to be familiar with the following information.
Printable information is available in English and Spanish .
FISH IS GOOD:
- Fish can be part of a healthy diet, which prevents heart disease
- Fish is a source of protein vitamins and minerals
- Fish is low in fat
MERCURY IS BAD:
- Mercury can exist in many forms. Metallic mercury is a silvery metal that is liquid at room temperature. Mercury salts and organic mercury compounds can be powders or liquids.
- Mercury can enter ponds, lakes, and rivers through pollution. This can be dangerous.
- When mercury pollutes the water it can get into the fish that live there.
- Mercury is commonly found in fresh water fish and only in a few types of saltwater fish.
- Mercury can cross the placenta and influence the neurological development of the fetus.
- Mercury exposure can affect how a baby learns, moves, and behaves.
- High levels of mercury in the body can cause harm to an adult's kidneys and brain. Symptoms can include irritability, shyness, tremors, changes in vision or hearing, or memory problems.
ADVICE FOR PREGNANT WOMEN, NURSING WOMEN, WOMEN PLANNING A PREGNANCY, AND YOUNG CHILDREN (under 6 years of age).
According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 2001 advisory:
- "Seafood can be an important part of a balanced diet for pregnant women and those of childbearing age who may become pregnant. FDA advises these women to select a variety of other kinds of fish -- including shellfish, canned fish, smaller ocean fish or farm-raised fish -- and that these women can safely eat 12 ounces per week of cooked fish. A typical serving size of fish is from 3 to 6 ounces."
- To follow this advice, HEALTH recommends eating no more than 6 ounces of tuna per week. Choose "light" tuna over "white" tuna. For more information about tuna go to: http://www.doh.wa.gov/fish/FishAdvMercury.htm
IN ADDITION TO FDA's ADVISORY, HEALTH ADVISES PREGNANT WOMEN, NURSING WOMEN, WOMEN PLANNING A PREGNANCY, AND YOUNG CHILDREN (under 6 years of age)
TO AVOID EATING:
- Swordfish
- Shark
- Bluefish
- Striped Bass
- Freshwater fish caught in RI waters (except stocked trout)
NOTES:
Tilefish and King Mackerel (although not regularly caught nor consumed in Rhode Island, these species are included in FDA's advisory).
Note: Mercury levels for bluefish and striped bass are low. The FDA cautions against eating these fish due to another contaminant, polychlorinated biphenyls, also called PCBs.
ADVICE FOR THOSE WHO FISH
CHOOSE THE RIGHT FISH:
FISH TO STAY AWAY FROM THESE FISH:
- Avoid fish with the most mercury: bass, pike, and pickerel
- Limit black crappie and eel to one meal per month.
- For more specific information, Data on Mercury by Fish Species
DON'T EAT FISH FROM THESE PLACES:
With the exception of trout; Do Not Eat any fish from:
- Yawgoog Pond;
- Windcheck Pond;
- Meadowbrook Pond;
- Quidnick Reservoir;
- The lower Woonasquatucket River and
- The Blackstone River
For more information about the Woonasquatucket River advisory go to: http://www.epa.gov/NE/ra/woonas/dont.pdf and http://epa.gov/region01/superfund/
sites/centredale
- Limit all fish from Tucker, Yawgoo and Watchaug Ponds to one meal per month
- For more specific information, Data on Mercury in Fish by Water Body table
- Preliminary data from a Pan Fish Study completed in 1998 indicates relatively high levels of mercury in fish from Barber Pond, Bowdish Reservoir, Curran Reservoir, Echo Lake, Indian Lake and School House Pond.
- Preliminary assessments of fish from Mashapaug Pond indicate elevated levels of several contaminants, warranting further study. For the Woonasquatucket River, Mashapaug Pond and other urban rivers and ponds, fishing can still be enjoyed by those who "catch and release".
FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT MERCURY IN FISH
FOR GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT MERCURY
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