Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass".
Seafood mislabeling distorts the true abundance of fish in the sea, defrauds consumers, and can also cause unwanted exposure to harmful pollutants. By combining genetic data with analyses of total mercury content, we have investigated how species substitutions and fishery-stock substitutions obscure...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8a24931d54fe43bfa87630938ca07fa0 2023-05-15T17:54:42+02:00 Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". Peter B Marko Holly A Nance Peter van den Hurk 2014-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 https://doaj.org/article/8a24931d54fe43bfa87630938ca07fa0 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4122487?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 https://doaj.org/article/8a24931d54fe43bfa87630938ca07fa0 PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 8, p e104140 (2014) Medicine R Science Q article 2014 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 2022-12-31T02:30:10Z Seafood mislabeling distorts the true abundance of fish in the sea, defrauds consumers, and can also cause unwanted exposure to harmful pollutants. By combining genetic data with analyses of total mercury content, we have investigated how species substitutions and fishery-stock substitutions obscure mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), also known as "Chilean sea bass". Patagonian toothfish show wide variation in mercury concentrations such that consumers may be exposed to either acceptable or unacceptable levels of mercury depending on the geographic origins of the fish and the allowable limits of different countries. Most notably, stocks of Patagonian toothfish in Chile accumulate significantly more mercury than stocks closer to the South Pole, including the South Georgia/Shag Rocks stock, a fishery certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sustainably fished. Consistent with the documented geography of mercury contamination, our analysis showed that, on average, retail fish labeled as MSC-certified Patagonian toothfish had only half the mercury of uncertified fish. However, consideration of genetic data that were informative about seafood substitutions revealed a complex pattern of contamination hidden from consumers: species substitutions artificially inflated the expected difference in mercury levels between MSC-certified and uncertified fish whereas fishery stock substitutions artificially reduced the expected difference in mercury content between MSC-certified and uncertified fish that were actually D. eleginoides. Among MSC-certified fish that were actually D. eleginoides, several with exogenous mtDNA haplotypes (i.e., not known from the certified fishery) had mercury concentrations on par with uncertified fish from Chile. Overall, our analysis of mercury was consistent with inferences from the genetic data about the geographic origins of the fish, demonstrated the potential negative impact of seafood mislabeling on unwanted mercury exposure for consumers, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Patagonian Toothfish South pole Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Shag Rocks ENVELOPE(-42.033,-42.033,-53.550,-53.550) South Pole PLoS ONE 9 8 e104140 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
spellingShingle |
Medicine R Science Q Peter B Marko Holly A Nance Peter van den Hurk Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Seafood mislabeling distorts the true abundance of fish in the sea, defrauds consumers, and can also cause unwanted exposure to harmful pollutants. By combining genetic data with analyses of total mercury content, we have investigated how species substitutions and fishery-stock substitutions obscure mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides), also known as "Chilean sea bass". Patagonian toothfish show wide variation in mercury concentrations such that consumers may be exposed to either acceptable or unacceptable levels of mercury depending on the geographic origins of the fish and the allowable limits of different countries. Most notably, stocks of Patagonian toothfish in Chile accumulate significantly more mercury than stocks closer to the South Pole, including the South Georgia/Shag Rocks stock, a fishery certified by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) as sustainably fished. Consistent with the documented geography of mercury contamination, our analysis showed that, on average, retail fish labeled as MSC-certified Patagonian toothfish had only half the mercury of uncertified fish. However, consideration of genetic data that were informative about seafood substitutions revealed a complex pattern of contamination hidden from consumers: species substitutions artificially inflated the expected difference in mercury levels between MSC-certified and uncertified fish whereas fishery stock substitutions artificially reduced the expected difference in mercury content between MSC-certified and uncertified fish that were actually D. eleginoides. Among MSC-certified fish that were actually D. eleginoides, several with exogenous mtDNA haplotypes (i.e., not known from the certified fishery) had mercury concentrations on par with uncertified fish from Chile. Overall, our analysis of mercury was consistent with inferences from the genetic data about the geographic origins of the fish, demonstrated the potential negative impact of seafood mislabeling on unwanted mercury exposure for consumers, ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Peter B Marko Holly A Nance Peter van den Hurk |
author_facet |
Peter B Marko Holly A Nance Peter van den Hurk |
author_sort |
Peter B Marko |
title |
Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
title_short |
Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
title_full |
Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
title_fullStr |
Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in Patagonian toothfish (Dissostichus eleginoides) or "Chilean sea bass". |
title_sort |
seafood substitutions obscure patterns of mercury contamination in patagonian toothfish (dissostichus eleginoides) or "chilean sea bass". |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 https://doaj.org/article/8a24931d54fe43bfa87630938ca07fa0 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-42.033,-42.033,-53.550,-53.550) |
geographic |
Shag Rocks South Pole |
geographic_facet |
Shag Rocks South Pole |
genre |
Patagonian Toothfish South pole |
genre_facet |
Patagonian Toothfish South pole |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 9, Iss 8, p e104140 (2014) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4122487?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 https://doaj.org/article/8a24931d54fe43bfa87630938ca07fa0 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0104140 |
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PLoS ONE |
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9 |
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8 |
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e104140 |
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