Total mercury and methylmercury levels in commercially important fishes in Japan

Yamashita, Yumiko; Omura, Yuji; Okazaki, Emiko

doi:10.1111/j.1444-2906.2005.01060.x

Cited by 84 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 22 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Age explained more variance in mercury than size. Inter-and intra-specific mercury variation has been attributed to size or age in numerous marine and freshwater studies (7,10,38,39). The present results confirm these trends.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey

Choy

Popp

Kaneko

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

187

144

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Mercury distribution in the oceans is controlled by complex biogeochemical cycles, resulting in retention of trace amounts of this metal in plants and animals. Inter-and intra-specific variations in mercury levels of predatory pelagic fish have been previously linked to size, age, trophic position, physical and chemical environmental parameters, and location of capture; however, considerable variation remains unexplained. In this paper, we focus on differences in ecology, depth of occurrence, and total mercury levels in 9 species of commercially important pelagic fish (Thunnus obesus, T. albacares, Katsuwonus pelamis, Xiphias gladius, Lampris guttatus, Coryphaena hippurus, Taractichthys steindachneri, Tetrapturus audax, and Lepidocybium flavobrunneum) and in numerous representatives (fishes, squids, and crustaceans) of their lower trophic level prey sampled from the central North Pacific Ocean. Results indicate that total mercury levels of predatory pelagic fishes and their prey increase with median depth of occurrence in the water column and mimic concentrations of dissolved organic mercury in seawater. Stomach content analysis results from this study and others indicate a greater occurrence of higher-mercury containing deeper-water prey organisms in the diets of the deeperranging predators, X. gladius, T. obesus, and L. guttatus. While present in trace amounts, dissolved organic mercury increases with depth in the water column suggesting that the mesopelagic habitat is a major entry point for mercury into marine food webs. These data suggest that a major determinant of mercury levels in oceanic predators is their depth of forage.depth of forage ͉ marine pelagic predators ͉ North Pacific Ocean ͉ mercury bioaccumulation ͉ mesopelagic zone

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 89%

The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey

Choy

Popp

Kaneko

et al. 2009

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

187

144

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Data on mercury in tuna fish from the Philippines and Thailand were much lower compared to the current study (Thongra-ara and Parkpian 2002;Akagi et al 2000). Tuna fishes from Japan showed higher levels of mercury than samples caught from the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia; however, it was still lower when compared to the samples form the east coast (Nakagawa et al 1997;Yamashita et al 2005). Other studies reported lower content of mercury in tuna from Mediterranean Sea (Storelli and Marcotrigiano 2001;Storelli et al 2002Storelli et al , 2005Pastor et al 1994).…”

Section: Mercury In Tuna and Mackerelcontrasting

confidence: 80%

“…High accumulation of mercury in liver of fish has also been reported in other studies (Agusa et al 2005;Nakagawa et al 1997;Yamashita et al 2005;Al-Yousuf et al 2000;Farkas et al 2000;Romeo et al 1999;Zyadah and Chouikhi 1999), suggesting that liver plays an important role for metabolism of trace elements in fish. This was attributed to the tendency of liver to accumulate pollutants of various kinds at higher levels from the environment (El-Shahawi 1996; Galindo et al 1986;Harrison and Klaverkamp 1990).…”

Section: Mercury In Tuna and Mackerelsupporting

confidence: 58%

Biomagnifications of mercury and methylmercury in tuna and mackerel

Hajeb

Jinap

Ahmad

2009

Environ Monit Assess

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Seawater may be contaminated by harmful substances, including toxic elements released by human activities. The present study evaluates the total mercury and methylmercury concentrations and their correlations to fish body size in longtail tuna and short-bodied mackerel from Chendring, Kuantan, at east coast and Kuala Perlis at west costs of Peninsular Malaysia during May to November 2007. Total mercury and methylmercury in muscle tissue of 69 samples of longtail tuna and short-bodied mackerel, ranged from 0.180 to 1.460 μg/g and 0.0.169-0.973 μg/g and 0.251-1.470 μg/g and 0.202-1.352, whereas the methylmercury to total mercury ratio ranged from 70% to 83%, respectively. Samples of both species from the east coast showed higher levels of mercury compared to those from west coast. In all of the locations, significant positive correlations were found between fish body weight and mercury content (R(2) > 0.470). The estimated weekly intake of total mercury and methylmercury from the consumption 66.33 g/week of short-bodied mackerel and 18.34 g/week of longtail tuna (based on local dietry survey) was found to be lower than the maximum limit of 5 and 1.5 μg/kg bodyweight established by FAO/WHO and codex, respectively.

show abstract

“…All these three species mostly live in tropical and subtropical waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean, and do not usually enter the Mediterranean Sea, which is generally believed to be more contaminated by mercury than the other seas and oceans. In terms of food safety the concentration of mercury in muscle tissue is an important parameter although there is a big discrepancy in legislative regulations between the countries, so that in the EU and USA the maximum permitted level of mercury in fish is 1.0 µg/g (Burger and Gochfeld, 2004) while in Japan it is 0.4 µg/g (Yamashita et al, 2005). In terms of ecotoxicology the age (correspondingly weight) is an important parameter in evaluating mercury hazard.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) farmed in the Adriatic Sea

Srebočan¹,

Pompe-Gotal²,

Prevendar-Crnić³

et al. 2007

Vet. Med. - Czech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Levels of total mercury in the muscle (29 samples) and liver tissue (15 samples) of bluefin tuna (<i>Thunnus thynnus</i>) weighing 100−300 kg were determined by cold vapour atomic absorption (AA) spectroscopy. Tunas were previously captured in the waters of Malta, towed to the farm in the Adriatic Sea and fattened with defrosted herring and sardine for the period of 6 to 7 months. The purpose of the investigation was to determine the magnitude of mercury contamination and to ascertain whether the concentrations in muscle tissue exceeded the maximum level defined by the European Commission Decision (1 μg/g wet weight). Total mercury concentrations in the muscle tissue of tunas ranged from 0.49 to 1.809 (median 0.899 μg/g wet weight) while in the liver tissue it was from 0.324 to 3.248 (median 1.165 μg/g wet weight). Total mercury concentrations in six samples of sardine ranged from 0.050 to 0.072 μg/g wet weight while two samples of herring contained 0.020 and 0.053 μg/g wet weight. Twelve out of 29 (41%) muscle samples of tuna contained mercury above the maximum level defined by the European Commission Decision. It is generally believed that mercury levels in Mediterranean fish are higher than those of the other seas or oceans due to numerous deposits of mercury ores and metallic mercury in surrounding countries.

show abstract

Total mercury and methylmercury levels in commercially important fishes in Japan

Cited by 84 publications

References 22 publications

The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey

The influence of depth on mercury levels in pelagic fishes and their prey

Biomagnifications of mercury and methylmercury in tuna and mackerel

Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) farmed in the Adriatic Sea

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About