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Since we're in the albacore tuna business, we can't help but be concerned about mercury and other pollutants that may affect the health and safety of the oceans and our fish. Mercury is, after all, a powerful poison that has been shown to be more toxic in even tiny amounts than lead, cadmium or arsenic.
As a matter of policy, we at the Fishing Vessel St. Jude have tested the mercury level in our catch several times — and will continue to do so every time our boat returns to Seattle. (Our most recent test was based on a random selection of portions from 30 different fish from our last catch, which were macerated together in order to get an average.) We are pleased to report that, to date, our own tests — conducted by the Food Quality Lab in Portland, Oregon — indicate non-detectable levels of mercury, based on equipment with a resolution of one tenth of a part per million, or .1 ppm. That is substantially less than the threshold of 1 ppm established by the Food and Drug Administration — and is well below the stricter guidelines of .2 to .3 ppm recommended by the Environmental Working Group and other consumer groups. The Fishing Vessel St. Jude 's results were also lower than any of the test results conducted by various government sources cited in the Environmental Working Group's comprehensive study of available government data going back ten years, the more recent investigations conducted by Consumer Report, and the results of the Oregon State University study published in February 2004. The OSU study indicated that mercury levels for troll-caught albacore fished off the northern Pacific near the coasts of Oregon and Washington were about one-third the level found in most industrial canned tuna.
We are not surprised by the positive results indicated by both the tests of our own fish and Oregon State University's test of 100 troll-caught fish from different boats. It is, after all, generally accepted in the scientific community that younger and smaller fish lower in the food chain contain less methyl mercury. The average fish caught by the Fishing Vessel St. Jude is 15 pounds — compared to the average mature fish weighing in around 50 pounds.
We will continue to post the results from our mercury tests here. Meanwhile, we urge everybody to join MoveOn.org's push to get mercury out of the ocean.
More Information
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Life & Arts: Taste and technique make custom-canned tuna a better choice
California Attorney General Files Lawsuit Against Canned Tuna Companies for Failing to Warn Consumers about Exposure to Mercury
California Attorney General Bill Lockyer on June 21, 2004 filed a complaint against the owners of Chicken of the Sea, Starkist, and Bumble Bee for violating California's Proposition 65. According to the press release, the law requires businesses to provide "clear and reasonable" warnings before exposing people to known carcinogens or reproductive toxins.
US government advice about mercury in fish and shellfish, dated March 2004
Chart on mercury levels in seafood species
Please note: These are official government statistics. Unfortunately, there is ample room for manipulation of canned tuna data. At this point in time, we do not believe any government agencies have adequately distinguished between younger and older albacore, or between the different species of tuna that make up chunk light tuna. We hope to see a correction of this policy in future testing.
Mercury Policy Project
A must-read for anybody interested in up-to-date news with respect to mercury — in dental amalgams and industry as well as in tuna. Again, we are disappointed that the Mercury Policy Project, like the government, has not yet distinguished between species of tuna — or the age of albacore. Nevertheless, we laud them for their fine work.
Environmental Working Group
Another must-read for anybody interested in up-to-date news with respect to mercury in seafood. Included here are the Environmental Working Group's complaint against the FDA for suppressing negative data about mercury in tuna, links to transcripts of meetings at the FDA obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, and links to studies conducted by the National Academy of Sciences and the General Accounting Office.
Again, we laud the EWG's work but wish this fine group would distinguish between the various species of tuna, where they are caught and the age of albacore when caught. In an article about the Oregon State University study that distinguished between troll-caught albacore in the Pacific Northwest and the mature fish caught in the warm equatorial waters of the central Pacific (fish generally purchased by the tuna industry for canning), EWG Director of Research Jane Houlihan said it was too difficult for consumers to know which canned albacore consists of safer troll-caught fish. This simply is not true. All albacore sold by the Fishing Vessel St. Jude is troll-caught off our own boat.
The Environmental Protection Agency
This site includes everything from frequently asked questions to fish advisories and technical information. We draw special attention to a variety of reports and recommendations.
Mercury Build-Up in the Seas: Where it Comes From and What It's Doing in the Food Chain, by Katherine Czapp
An excellent overview first published in Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts, the quarterly magazine of the Weston A. Price Foundation, Summer l993. Weston A. Price was a dentist who traveled the world in the l930s photographing people and identifying the impact of various processed foods on their health. His book, Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, is a frightening revelation.
Health Hazards of Mercury, by Eric Davis, DDS
Another excellent overview. Among other things, it indicates that the Mediterranean basin and the island of Madeira in the Atlantic are two locations where mercury concentrations are particularly high. Other issues addressed in this piece include mercury from amalgams and the link to breast milk, mercury in contact lenses and cosmetics as well as its use in preserving vaccines, the link to heart disease, and the optimal diet for detoxification.
Food Fight, Mercury in Fish, NOW with Bill Moyers, July 18, 2003
NOW's "Food Fight" examines how the influence of the tuna industry on the FDA may be putting Americans and their children at risk. Includes a transcript and several links. Particularly notable: The Poisoning of Minamata. In the l950s, an epidemic of mercury poisoning hurt fishermen and their families in a small village in Japan.
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Joe Malley on the St. Jude. Photo by Clare Barboza
St. Jude fishing lure. Photo by Clare Barboza
St. Jude fishing hook. Photo by Clare Barboza
St. Jude bow. Photo by Clare Barboza
St. Jude fishing rope. Photo by Clare Barboza
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