Conservation's Indirect Strategy: mercury levels in Japanese could effect change

The strategy of reporting on the health impact on humans brought about by the consumption of endangered ocean species continues to gain momentum as a viable approach for garnering public awareness. The Ocean Preservation Society, who produced the award-winning documentary The Cove, is spreading the word about a recent article in The Japan Times about mercury levels in the whale and dolphin meat that is consumed by the people of Taiji, where much of The Cove takes place.

Taiji is known for its capture and bloody harvest of dolphins and small whales - either for aquariums or for human consumption. While there has been much government intervention to manipulate the media and downplay the event, at least one brave Taiji council member moved to have the meat tested. He was eventually shunned and left Taiji, but the testing continued and the results have been reported in some segments of the media who have resisted government pressure.

According to the Kyodo News and The Japan Times, it was found that the people of Taiji, who consume dolphin and whale meat, have mercury levels that are as much as 10 times higher than the Japanese norm. Children, who can be very susceptible to the neurological effects of mercury, were going to school every day only to dine on contaminated dolphin meat as part of the town's school lunch program. Fortunately, the program has now discontinued serving dolphin meat.

Pelagic animals like whales, dolphins, tuna, swordfish, and sharks, unfortunately are able to retain pollutants deep in their tissues. Although mercury seems to be one of the most worrisome agents, other pollutants have been found, including DDT, and other pesticides, in addition to several other industrial chemicals that enter the ocean either directly or from discharge into the atmosphere (which then eventually falls into the sea).

While health threats against mankind might be the impetus needed to produce change in environmental or ecological policy, it seems sad that it has to come to that. It illustrates our self-centered behavior when it's not enough that the atmosphere is being altered or that species are being endangered by over-harvesting or loss of habitat - instead, it takes a direct negative effect on ourselves for us to sit up and take notice.

Perhaps it's academic; it's just human nature and we should use it to our best advantage. Shark conservationists are using mercury poisoning to drum up concern over the demand for shark products; climate change proponents are using documented changes in agricultural output and drought conditions in Africa and the related loss of life to make their case; and groups like GotMercury.org put out information on the pollutant levels in over-fished species like swordfish, tuna, and others. It seems to be a strategy that has potential for generating real change. The problem is that when that change comes to protect mankind from himself, where will the plant and animals, the ocean, land and air be by then? Will it already have been too late?

Read article in Japan Today/Kyodo News.

GotMercury.org: Calculate the mercury in your seafood choices

The good folks at the Turtle Island Restoration Network have harnessed mobile technology to help all of us determine whether the fish we eat is safe in regards to mercury levels. You may have read previous postings where I discussed this important issue and now, when you go to the market or out to to a restaurant, you can determine whether your seafood selection is a safe one by using the GotMercury calculator that can be accessed by many leading mobile devices at www.gotmercury.mobi.

You can also go to the GotMercury.org web site and type in your weight, your selected seafood and the amount, and then it will calculate whether your selection exceeds government standards for safety. Here's an example, if you decide you want to sit down to dine on 8 oz. of swordfish (as you might suspect, it's way over the limit):
Not only does this calculator help us to lead healthier lives, but it also brings home the issue of mercury poisoning in seafood - particularly in pelagics like sharks, swordfish, and tuna.

United Nations and World Bank: weigh in on the future of commercial fisheries

One of the ways to get commercial interests to move in more eco-friendly directions is to appeal to base instincts. In this case, economic viability. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, part of the United Nations), in conjunction with the World Bank, has released an assessment of marine fisheries and, as one might suspect, it shows a massive loss of revenue due to a decline in catch. (Read the press release.)

But poor management is as much to blame as is declining seafood populations. Commercial fisheries are plagued by over-capacity and over-efficiency - too many boats and advanced fishing techniques. The rising cost of fuel might be a nail in the coffin, but the problems were brewing long before fuel became an issue. Basic business economics says when you have a limited market (or resource, as in the case of seafood) and you expand operations, at some point the rate of revenue will decline. How many businesses have we seen become victims of expansion beyond what the market can bear? From computer chips to coffee shops.

The commercial fishing industry must address the need to scale back its operations to become more efficient - which will have a positive effect on seafood populations and can actually prevent market prices for seafood from skyrocketing. But it requires a shift in the industry, moving and retraining manpower and resources into other related areas, such as aquaculture/aquafarming.

(Read the complete report.)

Contaminated Seafood: how to find the "good stuff"

Seafood contamination - primarily in the form of mercury poisoning - is serious business. It has moved beyond the early contaminated species of tuna to other pelagics like swordfish and sharks and continues to spread to other species. But since uncontaminated fish (from sustainable species, of course) can be a healthy component of our diet, how can we be sure we're purchasing seafood that is safe? Where's a good safe place to buy safe seafood?

Oceana.org has assembled a great interactive mapping service: Interactive Grocery Store Map. With this map you can drill down to your local neighborhood and find stores that are on Oceana's "Green List."

This is a big help to the conscientious shopper but, of course, we need to also address the reasons for seafood contamination in the first place. Industrial processes that put mercury vapor into the air or through industrial discharge must be eliminated both in the U.S. and worldwide. The "liquid metal" was fun to play with when I was a child but in the 50+ years since, we've learned it's no plaything.