Watanabe et al. 2017 - Surveillance of Total Mercury and Methylmercury Concentrations in Retail Fish
This Japanese surveillance study measured total mercury and methylmercury in retail fish samples across 19 fish species.
Key numbers
- Sample size: 210 retail fish samples, classified into 19 fish species.
- Total mercury and methylmercury concentrations were higher than 1 mg/kg in some swordfish and bluefin tuna samples.
- In bluefin tuna and yellowtail, farm-raised fish had lower total mercury and methylmercury than natural fish.
- The authors state that a 0.3 mg/kg total-mercury cutoff would improve screening effectiveness.
Methods
The study used validated analytical methods for total mercury and methylmercury in retail fish. The abstract reports species-level findings and screening implications.
Implications
The source supports Japanese retail-fish mercury surveillance and flags swordfish/bluefin tuna as high-end species. Use full tables before extracting species-specific distribution values beyond the abstract’s >1 mg/kg statement.
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Verification notes
- Source identity checked against DOI 10.3358/shokueishi.58.80 and the downloaded PDF.
- The abstract is bilingual; the English abstract provides the routeable summary used here.
Page history
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