Mercury in Some Canadian Atlantic Coast Fish and Shellfish

All species of North Atlantic fishes studied, with the exception of two groups of offshore lobsters, had total mercury levels less than the 0.5 ppm limit allowed for fish of commerce in Canada and the United States. There appeared to be no relationship between mercury levels and the sex and/or weigh...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of the Fisheries Research Board of Canada
Main Authors: Freeman, H. C., Horne, D. A., McTague, B., McMenemy, M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1974
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/f74-063
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/f74-063
Description
Summary:All species of North Atlantic fishes studied, with the exception of two groups of offshore lobsters, had total mercury levels less than the 0.5 ppm limit allowed for fish of commerce in Canada and the United States. There appeared to be no relationship between mercury levels and the sex and/or weight of fish of any one species.The first indication that mecury was a threat to public health came from the Japanese mercury poisoning epidemics in the early 1950s (Löfroth 1969; Berglund et al. 1971). This initiated many studies. Apparently increased industrial and agricultural use and the broad dissemination of mercury compounds had caused mercury contamination in fish (Nuorteva 1971).