Transcript
DAVID EVERS: The health implications are that mercury as a neuro-toxin has potential neurological impacts. Just as a tangible example, methylmercury has been shown to reduce the IQ of children and that is based on a long-term study on the Faroe Islands. So the neurological implications of methylmercury can be significant.
SALLY ROUND: And the levels that you were seeing in those hair samples of those countries that you studied, the Cook Islands, the Marshall Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, are they levels that are high enough to cause this sort of damage?
DE: Yes. According to studies in the Faroe Islands and other studies in the U.S and Canada they can potentially cause these implications. According to other studies in other places like the Seychelle Islands, the impacts were minimal or negligent. This first study that we conducted has a complex message. It also has a complexity in how to assess the potential risk to communities. The implications of this study, [you have to] realise its a pilot study of a small sample size of communities of people and that there is gradients and differences in how populations and individuals react to mercury. So the next step, the mercury concentrations are high enough in the body burdens of people to, in my mind, that would require follow up studies to determine are those levels high enough across a population, a larger community, and are those mercury concentrations causing some sort of harm.
SR: Is there a chance that people have adapted to high levels of mercury in the Pacific region?
DE: Yes there is a possibility. There are indications again from the Seychelles study, that people with elevated mercury concentrations can adapt to a certain degree of mercury in their bodies. Now how much they can adapt is unknown and it would be something that would need further study.
SR: So you are not saying don't eat fish or don't eat a certain fish?
DE: That's right. The messaging as I mentioned is complex. I would say there are some fish or seafood that are riskier choices and there are some seafoods that are healthier choices. And I think the good message for the countries and to understand which populations are more sensitive than others, is to have a message that promotes healthier choices of seafood where there is low mercury and high Omega3s and to maybe avoid the riskier choices of fish. Some of the healthier choices can be younger, smaller fish. So the fish in the South Pacific could be Grouper for example that are commonly eaten. As long as they are the younger, smaller species or individuals of Grouper. Conversely the larger, long-lived species like Swordfish are much more riskier choices. Tuna fish can be healthy or risky. So small tuna fish like Albacore or Yellowfin tuna can be healthy choices. Riskier choices of tuna are the very large Pacific Bluefin tuna. Those have much higher mercury concentrations than smaller Yellowfin or Albacore tuna.
