Is Eating Fish Safe Anymore?

I started eating fish at a young age and I still consume it regularly. I stopped eating it for 2.5 years when I was a vegetarian but I went back to eating it and now I eat it every few days. Getting the right tuna steak is one of life’s greatest pleasures. However, after doing all of this research into mercury, I began to get concerned about my fish consumption.

Turns out, fish are loaded with mercury! 

How are fish loaded with mercury?

Well, there are two main ways that they absorb it. The first is from the sediment in the ocean. The sediment contains mercury which is transformed into methylmercury (the dangerous organic form) by the “bottom feeders” that eat it and then dispose of it. The fish absorb the methylmercury in their digestive tracts when they feed and in their gills when they breathe (like how we absorb air pollution) and voila! Mercury is in their whole body!  

Furthermore, fish absorb inorganic and metallic mercury that winds up dumped in the ocean from industrial and extraction work sites (gold mines anyone?) via their gills.  

Now that we know how fish are loaded with mercury, how do we go about consuming them safely? Because I am certainly not going to tell y’all avoid fish at all costs. The first step would to avoid eating larger, more predatory fish such as shark, orange roughy, swordfish, rays, etc. They have higher levels of mercury in their systems because they eat the smaller fish and absorb the mercury that are in them. The second step would be to avoid eating too much fish if you are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding, or a young child. Those are the groups of people most likely to be badly affected by mercury exposure so limiting fish consumption and avoiding the high mercury fish is best practice. 

Finally, as consumers it is important to buy products from companies who do not use huge amounts of mercury and proceed to dump it in the local river, lake, or ocean. People can buy jewelry that is not made with mercury, or get their heat and electrical power from sources that use mercury in their production, or any metallic object. That, will drive down production and waste dumping and it will make a difference. 

Ultimately, fish are safe to consume despite the mercury. Your body cleanses it out of your system. But it is important to minimize the potential amount of mercury you consume, especially if you are part of a high risk population, to keep you and those around you healthy. So do not panic! You can still enjoy that tuna steak or catfish sandwich and not worry about potentially accelerating your imminent doom.