Mercury Content in West Coast Troll-Caught Albacore Tuna (Thunnus alalunga)
 
Tomoko Okada M.S., Rosalee Rasmussen, M.S. and Michael T. Morrissey, PhD.
Oregon State University Seafood Laboratory, 2001 Marine Drive, Astoria, OR 97103
 
Ninety-one Albacore tuna (Thunnus alalunga) captured during the 2003 commercial fishing season were tested for mercury content in the fish muscle. Additional information such as location, weight, length, lipid and moisture content were also collected. The fish were harvested between 32.70 degrees north (off Southern California) and 48.30 degrees north (off the coast of British Columbia, Canada) from a period of July to November. Fish weight ranged from 3.14 to 11.62 kg and length of 51 - 84 cm. Mercury content was found to range from a low of 0.027 ug/g (ppm) to a high of 0.26 ug/g in the samples tested. The average mercury content was 0.14 ug/g which is well below the US FDA and Canadian standards (1.0 ug/g and 0.50 ug/g respectively). There was a positive correlation of length and weight of albacore with mercury content. There was no correlation with date of capture. Results indicate that West Coast troll-caught albacore has low levels of mercury in the edible flesh and are well within international standards for mercury levels in fish.
 
Read More at oregonalbacore.org