Mercury and Seafood
What to Know About Mercury
Categories: Health Benefits
Author: Danielle deLeon
A digestible summary on all things seafood safety and mercury
Is mercury or mercury poisoning a concern for you? Women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, children under 12, and those who eat a predominantly seafood diet should certainly be conscious of their mercury consumption. Mercury is a naturally occurring element that is almost everywhere in the world, including soil and water. Fish that are from heavily polluted fisheries, slow growing, or attain a substantial size are all more likely to have higher mercury levels than fish that have shorter life spans and are harvested from clean fisheries.
Alaska Seafood comes from some of the cleanest and most carefully preserved waters in the world. As a result, Alaska seafood has significantly lower mercury levels than most wild caught seafood. In fact, all species of wild salmon, young halibut (like the kind caught by our fishermen), lingcod, Alaska pacific cod, and rockfish are so low in mercury content that there are no dietary restrictions on the amounts one should eat of these species!
To learn more about mercury levels in popular species of fish, and dietary recommendations for the consumption of fish, follow these links.
Mercury Consumption Guidelines
http://www.epi.alaska.gov/eh/fish/FishConsumptionCalc.pdf
Mercury Levels Found in Popular Seafood Species
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/Metals/ucm115644.htm