Consumers Should Be Aware of Toxins That Affect Seafood

The recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is just one example out of many of ways that humans have been causing environmental problems all over the Earth. It’s very important to make sure that Americans continue to monitor the situation in the gulf to do their best to protect as much wildlife as possible from the toxins that have entered the water. However, people are responsible for a large number of toxins entering the world’s oceans, and the way that humans cause toxins to enter the food stream of fish has not received enough media attention. The negative result of the irresponsible way that humans organize themselves is mercury fish.

Some levels of mercury in the oceans are natural and occur from sources such as volcanoes, which can erupt and send mercury downstream into the ocean. However, those levels are so small that they aren’t the source of the problem. Rather, things like coal and chlorine plants and mines, cause a number of toxic chemicals to enter the water stream and eventually drain into the ocean. All fish end up consuming some levels of mercury, but in general larger fish have higher levels of contaminants. That’s because smaller fish, which already have consumed mercury, get eaten by larger fish, which causes the level of mercury in their bodies to increase significantly. Mercury fish are a problem in particular for pregnant women because it’s a big safety risk for babies to consume high levels of the toxin.

Thankfully though, there are a number of types of seafood that aren’t considered mercury fish, and which can be much safer for people to consume. Hopefully in the future, all seafood will contain fewer contaminants as people stop abusing the environment through unsafe energies. For now, however, people should turn to fresh Alaskan seafood to reduce their exposure to toxins. Mercury fish tend to be larger fish such as sharks, while smaller fish such as Alaskan salmon and cod, have much smaller levels of toxins. Those are the perfect kinds of seafood for everyone to consume in order to eat a healthy protein, and they are fished in sustainable ways so you don’t have to worry about harming the environment either.

Alaska’s fishing industry leads the world in environmental protection measures. From efforts to improve traceability to strict enforcement procedures, Alaska continually shows how committed it is to preserving the ocean for the next generation.

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