Should fish-eaters be worried about eating ling cod? HumboldtBaykeeper is about to begin a study of mercury in certain Humboldt fish populations. Meanwhile, the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is advising citizens in the Montery Bay area that certain local fish populations contain high levels of mercury and PCBs.
Fred Evenson of the Ecological Rights Foundation and EcoNews Report host Jennifer Kalt (Director of Humboldt Baykeeper) discussed mercury in fish in Monterey's Elkhorn Slough, where a fish advisory was recently issued to protect human health.
"Methylmercury can damage the brain and nervous system, especially in developing children and fetuses. PCBs can affect the nervous system, and can cause cancer and other health effects," reads the advisory.
"Humans ... and other animals at the top of the food chain are at primary risk" for toxic mercury exposure, says Evenson.
Evenson co-founded Humboldt Baykeeper with Pete Nichols. Ecological Rights Foundation, formed in the 1990s by activists (including Evenson) in Humboldt to "protect humans from toxic exposure, stopping industrial and municipal water pollution, particularly to coastal environments, and protecting endangered species," he tells Kalt.
The EcoNews Report is presented by the Northcoast Environmental Center.
