There are concerns that some fish may be contaminated with a number of toxins that can adversely affect our health. 

Methyl mercury gets into our system through the consumption of fish and sea mammals.  Some of this mercury toxin arises naturally from gas that evaporates from the earth’s soil and water, as well as from the emissions of active volcanoes however our atmosphere has increasing amounts of mercury gas, produced from coal burning sources and other industrial processes. This mercury vapor then gets into the rain and soil and continues to circulate for years. It enters both nearby and distant bodies of water, attaches to aquatic sediment and microorganisms such as algae, and is converted to methyl mercury and enters the food chain.  It’s eaten by little fish; the little fish are eaten by bigger fish, and so on.  The more predatory, the older and the bigger the fish, the higher its concentration of methyl mercury. When we eat the fish, we metabolize its methyl mercury content slowly and poorly.  It’s stored in our fat, and it can take months, even a year, to work out of our system. 

If adults consume high amounts of very “mercuried” fish, they can develop neurological symptoms such as numbness, pain, vision and balance problems.  Elevated blood pressure and an increased risk of heart attack have also been correlated with mercury toxicity. 

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