New alert on eating salmon

State warns to limit meals of Puget Sound chinook

Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Cherie Black
Published October 26, 2006

or the first time, the Washington State Department of Health is warning consumers about eating salmon from Puget Sound. Because of relatively high levels of mercury and PCBs, the department said Thursday that consumption of chinook should be limited to one meal per week. Resident chinook, or blackmouth, should be limited to twice a month, the department said. Still, state officials emphasized that fish should be part of a healthy diet. "Many fish from Puget Sound remain a smart choice for the dinner table; however, this news is another sign that the Puget Sound is sick and we must take action now," Gov. Chris Gregoire said in a statement. "The Puget Sound Partnership is tackling this challenge head-on." The Puget Sound Partnership, a diverse group appointed by Gregoire, is crafting a set of recommendations for returning the Sound to health by 2020. "The information we had out there was sporadic, and we wanted consumers to have a comprehensive guide about what to eat," said Robert Duff, director of the office of Environment Health Assessment for the Health Department. Duff points to the department's Healthy Fish Eating Guide, which color-codes lists of fish safe for people to eat regularly. Fish in the green column are fine as often as three times a week. Fish in the yellow column, such as chinook, are limited to once a week. Fish relegated to the red column, including swordfish and shark, should be avoided. The guide, Duff said, is what consumers should use when they are at the supermarket, where the majority of people get their fish. Most chinook found there are relatively safe, he said, and the department is stepping up outreach to give seafood workers behind the counter better information to educate customers. Blackmouth generally are caught by recreational fishermen and are rarely sold commercially, Duff said. Several environmental groups applauded the state's action. advertising "Puget Sound's toxic pollution -- both historic and ongoing -- threatens not only the orca whales but also us human beings," Kathy Fletcher, executive director of People For Puget Sound, said in a joint statement from several groups. "This new fish advisory underscores the urgency of the governor's commitment to restoring the health of Puget Sound by 2020." According to Ivy Sager-Rosenthal, environmental health advocate of the Washington Toxics Coalition, "Eliminating sources of PBDEs (polybrominated diphenyl ether, a flame-retardant chemical) is a critical part of cleaning up and restoring Puget Sound to health. That will hopefully prevent future fish advisories." PCBs and mercury move through the food chain into fish, marine mammals such as orcas, and humans. They can cause behavioral and learning deficits in children exposed in the womb, so limits are especially important for women of child-bearing age and young children, the Health Department noted. "Fish, particularly salmon, are good to eat -- including those from Puget Sound," Secretary of Health Mary Selecky said in a statement. "The high protein and beneficial omega-3 fatty acids make fish a healthy choice. However, some fish accumulate more toxics than others, so we want people to be smart and choose wisely." Dr. David Siscovick, a professor of medicine and epidemiology at the University of Washington, said consumers shouldn't overreact to the warning, which he said affects only a small percentage of the Seattle-area population who eat a lot of one type of chinook. "If people hear yet again there are risks to eating fish, they will generalize all fish and choose alternatives that are less healthy," he said. "If people are eating a serving of salmon a week, they shouldn't change their behavior." The state's warning comes as consumers have been hit with confusing, and often contradictory, reports weighing the risks and benefits of fish consumption. Last week, a Harvard School of Public Health study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that the benefits of eating fish high in omega-3s strongly outweigh the risks. The study reported that even a modest amount of fish consumption reduces the risk of coronary death by 36 percent and death from any cause by 17 percent. But another report, released simultaneously by the Institute of Medicine, part of the non-profit National Academies, was more cautious, saying that consumption of fish "may" reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. It said seafood was healthy, but that there was not enough evidence about seafood's health benefits and risks to draw absolute conclusions. The authors said that eating fish and shellfish may reduce the risk of developing heart disease. Still, the authors said, they were not sure whether this was because people are substituting lean fish for more fatty meat or because of the health benefits of omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood. The New York Times reported that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration had requested the institute's report because it said consumers were confused about how much and what kind of fish they should eat. The two studies, which conflict in important aspects, seem unlikely to provide much clarity, The Times noted. "The high degree of certainty in one report and the extreme caution in the other," Rebecca Goldberg, a senior scientist with Environmental Defense, an advocacy group, told The Times, "will make people more confused than ever." WHAT YOU CAN, CANNOT EAT These are the state's guidelines for reducing exposure to mercury, PCBs and other contaminants in the fish you eat. YOU CAN EAT: 2-3 meals per week from this list Anchovies Butterfish Catfish Clams Cod Crayfish Flounder/sole Herring Oysters Pollock/fish sticks Salmon -- Chinook (coastal, Alaska) -- Chum -- Coho -- Farmed (Atlantic) -- Pink -- Sockeye Sardines Scallops Shrimp Squid/calamari Tilapia Trout Tuna OR YOU CAN EAT 1 meal per week from this list Black sea bass Chilean sea bass Chinook salmon (Puget Sound) Croaker (white, Pacific) Halibut Lobster Mahi mahi Monkfish Rockfish/red snapper (trawl caught) Sablefish Tuna (canned white albacore) AVOID! Eat rarely, if at all (Women who are or may become pregnant, nursing mothers and children should NOT eat these fish) King mackerel Shark Swordfish Tilefish Tuna steak MEAL SIZE Adult: About 8 oz. uncooked Child: About 4 oz. uncooked LEARN MORE See a copy of this chart online at www.doh.wa.gov/ehp/oehas/fish/fishchart.htm Read the rest of the state's Healthy Fish Eating Guide at www.doh.wa.gov/fish See the P-I's special report, The Sound of Broken Promises: seattlepi.com/specials/brokenpromises This report includes information from The Boston Globe. P-I reporter Cherie Black can be reached at 206-448-8180 or cherieblack@seattlepi.c