Update: We're All in the Same Mercury Contaminated Boat

Photo: Danil Vachegin / Istock

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After much ado about the New York Times story showing high levels of mercury in tuna from upscale sushi restaurants and shops in New York City, the paper then reported that Oceana, a conservation organization, issued a study showing fresh tuna levels found across the United States were as high as those found in New York City.

At least there's an issue we can all come together on.

The FDA website provides more information about fish and mercury guidelines for women who are pregnant, may become pregnant, and small children. Since 2004, the agency has advised these groups not to eat more than 12 ounces of fish a week, and not to eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish at all.

Meanwhile, the National Fisheries Institute issued a statement on their website that says: "In a poorly-sourced, sensational article in this morning’s New York Times, reporter Marian Burros presents a distorted report on sushi and seafood that is at odds with widely accepted science. The story is unreliable and contradicts broadly-held medical advice that tuna and other kinds of fish are an essential part of a healthy diet. The Times story is alarmist, special interest-driven journalism and should be treated with extreme skepticism."

Regardless of your current relationship with tuna, the article was certainly a hot topic. The Times went a step further today in order to help us decide who our next president should be. The paper asked the camps of current presidential candidates how we should deal with the mercury-laden fish issue. From Barack Obama: "Unlike other candidates, I have been saying since 2002 that we were headed down a disastrous road with our sushi policy." He continued, "It’s fine to get the mercury out of tuna. But all fish are in this together. We can’t rest until we have safe sushi of all types, all across this great land." Amen.

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