EPA Advisories for Fish Containing Mercury

This website discusses the amount of fish a person should consume and which fish a person should avoid. Pregnant women are advised to severely limit their intake of fish. There is a list of commonly asked questions as well so that people understand how dangerous mercury is and where more information could be found. The EPA also has links for state advisories, which may be stricter than the Federal advisories. This article explains in common language bioaccumulation and that larger fish are more likely to contain larger amounts of mercury. It is a good reference point for quick knowledge. Since the Environmental Protection Agency is considered an extension of the Federal Government and therefore the advice contained on this website should be held in a high regard.


"What You Need to Know about Mercury in Fish and Shellfish | Outreach & Communication | US EPA." Index | Water | US EPA. Environmental Protection Agency, 11 Mar. 2011. Web. 11 May 2011. <http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/fishshellfish/outreach/advice_index.cfm>

Melting Ice Increases Amount of Mercury in Oceans

CNRS (Délégation Paris Michel-Ange). "Arctic sea-ice controls the release of mercury."ScienceDaily 20 January 2011. 26 January 2011 <http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2011/01/110119084753.htm>.

Mercury in its natural gaseous form is not harmful. It is easily trapped in Arctic ice when spread from other regions through the atmosphere. When the ice begins to melt, mercury changes form into methylmercury, the toxic form. To study the amount of methylmercury in the Arctic food chain, researchers tested the amount found in murre eggs. Since murre are considered to be at the top of the arctic food chain, they are the perfect species for tracking the amount of toxins in the food chain. They studied the isotopes and found that methylmercury does not behave as predicted. Most isotopes change based on weight, but methylmercury changes between even and odd isotopes. The researchers now believe that this is because of where the murre nests were. They found that light plays a factor in breaking down methylmercury and were able to test the difference between amounts found in areas of high and low sea ice. The researchers concluded that in areas of high sea ice it is more difficult for methylmercury to go through the natural destruction process. This means that with the increase of global warming and the increase of melting sea ice, the amount of methylmercury that will be released into the atmosphere will increase significantly. With the new knowledge of the isotopes, researchers can begin to study the effects of these on the global ecosystem.