Environmental Issues > Health Main Page > All Health Documents

Mercury Contamination in Fish

PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY
Guide to Mercury in Sushi

Women who are pregnant or planning to become pregnant should be especially careful about eating sushi. Many of the fish chosen for sushi are the apex predators of the fish food chain, which means they can bear high concentrations of mercury. The following list highlights sushi choices highest and lowest in mercury.

LOWER MERCURY

Akagai (ark shell) 1
Anago (conger eel) 1
Aoyagi (round clam)
Awabi (abalone) 1
Ayu (sweetfish)
Ebi (shrimp)*
Hamaguri (clam)
Hamo (pike conger; sea eel) 1
Hatahata (sandfish)
Himo (ark shell) 1
Hokkigai (surf clam)
Hotategai (scallop)*
Ika (squid)
Ikura (salmon roe)
Kaibashira (shellfish)
Kani (crab)
Karei (flatfish)
Kohada (gizzard shad)
Masago (smelt egg)
Masu (trout)
Mirugai (surf clam)
Sake (salmon)
Sayori (halfbeak) 1
Shako (mantis shrimp)
Tai (sea bream) 1
Tairagai (razor-shell clam) 1
Tako (octopus)
Tobikko (flying fish egg)
Torigai (cockle)
Tsubugai (shellfish)
Unagi (freshwater eel) 1
Uni (sea urchin roe)

HIGH MERCURY

Ahi (yellowfin tuna)
Aji (horse mackerel) 1
Buri (adult yellowtail) 1
Hamachi (young yellowtail) 1
Inada (very young yellowtail) 1
Kanpachi (very young yellowtail) 1
Katsuo (bonito) 1
Kajiki (swordfish)*
Maguro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
Makjiki (blue marlin)*
Meji (young bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)
Saba (mackerel)
Sawara (Spanish mackerel)
Seigo (young sea bass)*
Shiro (albacore tuna)
Suzuki (sea bass)*
Toro (bigeye*, bluefin* or yellowfin tuna)

* Fish in Trouble! These fish are perilously low in numbers or are caught using environmentally destructive methods. To learn more, see the Monterey Bay Aquarium and the Blue Ocean Institute, both of which provide guides to fish to enjoy or avoid on the basis of environmental factors.

1. Mercury levels specific to these fish were not available and instead were extrapolated from fish with similar feeding patterns.

Sources for NRDC's guide: The data for this guide to mercury in fish comes from two federal agencies: the Food and Drug Administration, which tests fish for mercury, and the Environmental Protection Agency, which determines mercury levels that it considers safe for women of childbearing age.

About the mercury-level categories: The categories on the list are determined according to the following mercury levels in the flesh of tested fish.

  • Lower mercury: Less than 0.29 parts per million
  • High mercury: More than 0.3 parts per million

Intro | Effects | Sources | Protect Yourself | For Medical Professionals

Learn About Mercury and Its Effects
Know Where It's Coming From
Protect Yourself and Your Family

Mercury Guides
Trim your intake of mercury with these useful guides.

> NRDC's Mercury Calculator

Plus:
> Eating Tuna Safely
> Guide to Mercury in Fish
> Mercury in Sushi
> Sportfish Highest in Mercury

Safe Sushi Wallet Card
Wallet Card  
If you are pregnant or planning to become pregnant, use this guide to learn which fish used in sushi have low levels of mercury.
Information for Medical Professionals



All Tags [ View Popular Tags ]:
toxics
agriculture
air fresheners
air pollution
air pollution health impacts
air quality
alabama
alar
antibiotics
arsenic
asbestos
asthma
atrazine
beaches
birth defects
bottled water
bottom trawling
BPA
bush administration
California
cancer
case studies
cehmicals
chemicals
children
children's health
china
chlor-alkali plants
cigarette smoke
Clean Air Act
Clean Water Act
climate and health
climate and health risks
coal
coal-fired power plants
consequences
conservation and restoration
consumer products
costs of climate change
dengue
diesel buses
diesel exhaust
disease
disease clusters
drilling
drinking water
drought
dust
endocrine disruptors
energy efficiency
environmental threats
EPA
exposure to chemicals
extreme weather
farming
farms
farmworkers
fashion
FDA
fda fails to protect
fda reform
Flame Retardants
flood
floods
florida
food
formaldehyde
fracking
global warming
global warming and health
global warming emissions
global warming legislation
groundwater
growing green awards
gulf of mexico
gulfspill
habitat protection
Harmful Algal Blooms
health effects
health effects of pollution
heat waves
Hexane
Hexavalent Chromium
hog farms
human health
Hurricane Katrina
hurricanes
India
infectious diseases
integrated pest management
interviews
kids health
Kids' Health
labels
latinos
lead
livestock farms
louisiana
low impact development
manure
maps
melting ice and glaciers
mercury
Methylene Chloride
mississippi
mold
nanotechnologies
nanotechnology
natural gas
nitrogen oxides
oil
oil drilling
oil spill
oil spills
organic
organic food
overfishing
ozone
ozone smog pollution
particulate pollution
PCBs
pesticide alternatives
pesticides
pet products
pharmaceuticals
photos
phthalates
pig farms
pollen
polluted runoff
pollution
poultry
power plants
public health
radon
record-high temperatures
regulations
renewable energy
respiratory illness
river flooding
rivers
safeguards
SB 695
schools
scientific research
seafood
sea-level rise
sewage
smog
smoke
soot
species protection
storms
stormwater
sulfur dioxide
tap water
TCEP
TDCP
tennessee
texas
textiles
toxic
toxic air pollution
toxic chemicals
toxic waste
toxics
Tricholoroethylene
triclosan
tsca
vehicles
Vinyl Chloride
Washington DC
water
water pollution
Water Pollution
water quality
weather
wetlands
what you can do
wildfires
wildlife
workers' health

Sign up for NRDC's online newsletter

See the latest issue >

Give the Gift That Will Make a Difference: A Long Cool Drink

Switchboard Blogs

The environmental building blocks of urban happiness
posted by Kaid Benfield, 2/2/12
Chicken Fingers with a Side of Penicillin?
posted by Adrianna Quintero, 1/24/12
Designing healthy communities with Dr. Richard Jackson
posted by Kaid Benfield, 1/20/12

Related Stories

Simple Steps
A healthier you. A healthier home. A healthier Earth -- one step at a time.
Is Organic Food Worth It?
The short answer is yes -- get the lowdown from This Green Life.
Pet Products May Harm Both Pets and Humans
Poisons in many pet pesticide products are not safe for pets or humans.
Mercury Contamination
Share | |