April 17, 2008 issue
Two More Freshwater Fish Added to High-Mercury List
Two more types of freshwater fish in southeastern North Carolina have been found to have elevated levels of mercury: yellow perch caught south and east of I-85 and black crappie caught south and east of I-95. State public health officials are urging pregnant women and children to avoid eating those fish altogether, and urging others to limit their consumption of those fish to no more than one meal a week.
The two species join a growing list of freshwater and saltwater fish that are high in mercury. The state’s high-mercury list now includes the following freshwater fish: blackfish (bowfin), wild catfish, jack fish (chain pickerel), warmouth and yellow perch south and east of I-85 and largemouth bass across the state, as well as black crappie south and east of I-95.
Ocean fish on the state’s high-mercury list include canned white tuna (albacore tuna), all fresh or frozen tuna, almaco jack, banded rudderfish, cobia, crevalle jack, greater amberjack, South Atlantic grouper (gag, scamp, red and snowy), king mackerel, ladyfish, little tunny, marlin, orange roughy, shark, Spanish mackerel, swordfish and tilefish.
In people, mercury mostly affects nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, especially in unborn babies and young children. Prenatal mercury exposure can affect the way children think, learn and problem-solve later in life. Adverse health effects can also occur in adults at much higher doses.
Because of the health benefits of fish, however, public health officials urge people to eat a variety of fish that are low in mercury because fish contain nutrients that help prevent heart disease and that promote healthy nervous systems in children. Women and children under 15 can eat up to two meals a week of low-mercury fish; others can eat up to four meals a week of fish that are low in mercury.
Freshwater fish with lower mercury levels include bluegill sunfish, tilapia, and farm-raised catfish, trout and crayfish. Salmon (canned, fresh or frozen) is also low in mercury. Low-mercury saltwater fish include canned light (not albacore) tuna, black and red drum, cod, croaker, flounder, haddock, halibut, herring, jacksmelt, mahi-mahi, ocean perch, pollock, pompano, sheepshead, sea mullet (southern kingfish), spot, spotted sea trout (speckled trout), tripletail, whitefish and white grunt. Shellfish like shrimp, crab, lobster, clams, oysters and scallops are also lower in mercury, as are farm-raised fish.
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