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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 12
August 2009
Fish advisories fail to consider value of mercury-selenium link
GRAND FORKS, ND – After years of extensive research, the University of North Dakota’s Energy & Environmental Research Center announced in June that results of environmental, laboratory, and human studies show that mercury levels in freshwater and ocean fish are not as harmful as previously thought.
“Current fish advisories may be misleading and should be revised, taking the benefits of selenium into account,” stated a press release from the center. The findings offered vindication for fishing industry advocates who have long argued that concerns about mercury levels in seafood are overblown and alarmist.
University researchers published the results of two major studies in the journals Environmental Science & Technology and EcoHealth. Both indicated that failure to consider selenium in relation to mercury levels in freshwater and ocean fish will result in “critical mistakes in interpretation that generate unreliable and potentially inaccurate advice regarding fish consumption.”
Those mistakes “deter people from eating a nutritious product,” the university statement added. “Both reports state that the effects of mercury exposure are entirely dependent on the amount of selenium present in the diet.”
With very few exceptions, ocean fish are particularly rich in selenium. Out of 1,100 foods analyzed for selenium by the US Department of Agriculture, 17 of the 25 best dietary selenium sources were ocean fish.
But currently, the federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) assesses only mercury levels before issuing advisories about fish consumption. This practice, the researchers said, “may not provide a reliably accurate assessment of seafood safety.”
The study looked at a new seafood safety assessment known as the Selenium-Health Benefit Value (Se-HBV) to predict risks and benefits of seafoods based on their relative mercury and selenium content. Foods with disproportionately high levels of mercury have a negative Se-HBV and need to be completely avoided during pregnancy.
However, foods with a positive Se-HBV provide women with the selenium their babies need for healthy brain development. The study concluded that nearly all ocean fish have highly positive Se-HBVs that are expected to promote child health. The only exceptions noted were meat from pilot whales and large sharks.
The study was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency. More details are available on the University of North Dakota’s Energy and Environment Research Center web site at <www.undeerc.org>. /cfn/
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