How many meals of fish are safe to eat?
21Oct2009 Filed under: Best practices, Health Author: Stephan Becker
Women: These advisories are for women ages 18-75, with a body weight of 144 pounds and a meal size of 6 ounces (a little more than one-third pound) of fish before cooking.
Men: These advisories are for men ages 18-75, with a body weight of 172 pounds and a meal size of 8 ounces (one-half pound) of fish before cooking.
Older kids: These advisories are for children ages 6-12, with a body weight of 67 pounds and a meal size of 4.5 ounces (a little more than one-quarter pound) of fish before cooking.
Young kids: These advisories are for children ages 0-6, with a body weight of 32 pounds and a meal size of 3 ounces (a little less than one-quarter pound) of fish before cooking.
Young children are especially sensitive to the effects of seafood contaminants, since their nervous systems are still developing. If your child’s body weight or average meal size is drastically different from that assumed above, please adjust the consumption advisory accordingly.
For example, larger portions contain more contaminants, so fewer meals may be eaten safely every month. Similarly, children with lower body weights may be harmed by smaller quantities of contaminants and should consume fewer meals per month than in the table above.
Teens: Follow the advisory above that most closely matches individual body weight and meal size.
For young adults ages 12 to 18, choose the consumption advisories for either children or adults, depending on the individual’s body weight and typical meal size.
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This is a repost of an article of the Environmental Defense Fund. Read more here.
7 Responses to “How many meals of fish are safe to eat?”
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About this blog
Stephan is the President and Founder of Beautiful Oceans, an international coral reef education, mapping and conservation organization. His company donates 1% of its annual revenues or 10% of its annual profits, whichever is greater, to non-profit organizations working in the field of marine conservation. Beautiful Oceans Coral Reef Adventures and courses are available online and at selected destinations throughout the Caribbean for the enjoyment of the entire family.
To quote Stephan: "My commitment to the protection of the natural world finds its roots in the profound understanding that all life on Earth is interconnected. Being respectful of all forms of life equals being respectful of ourselves." When Stephan is not in the water diving or snorkeling, he likes to practice Yoga on the beach or tell ocean stories to marveled kids..
Susan Russ, Sarasota FL
October 30th, 2009 at 10:17 am
Stephan - thank you so much for this article. Very interesting! I have a perplexing question that no-one I have ever asked has been able to answer - ha! After reading this article, I thought perhaps you might have some insight into it. I eat all kinds of seafood, all over the world - but I am extremely allergic to grouper and swordfish. Just those two, and I can eat anything else with no problems. As they are very different in feeding patterns, etc, I have not been able to determine a connection between the two. I see on this chart that both have Mercury implications, but so do many other fish. I have asked commercial fishermen, spearfishermen, dive professionals and anyone else who would listen and no answers. Any ideas at all? Thanks! Susan
Stephan Becker
October 31st, 2009 at 11:03 pm
Hmmm, Susan that IS very intriguing! I have a possible answer that may surprise you: In one of your former lives you have been a mermaid! Throughout your tender mermaid childhood two gals at mermaid school have been incredibly nasty boys: the grouper boy and the swordfish boy… two rascals actually, making really bad jokes about your cute mermaid tail all the time.. no wonder that your mermaid soul has kept this pretty traumatizing memory alive throughout your various reincarnations… and here you are, finally reached wo-manhood. And o surprise! You have kept a decent allergy against those two rascals!…:-) You now also better understand why you love scuba diving so much - you have a true mermaid soul! Greetings to beautiful Sarasota, Cheers, Stephan…:-)
Rik Smoody
November 15th, 2009 at 9:05 pm
Nice summary, but
it would make me feel way more comfortable propagating it if I saw back-pointers to the raw data…
who does the measurement, procedures & methods and such.
Thierry Personne
November 17th, 2009 at 7:26 pm
If you add an other colomn for Ciguatera fish are really not safe to eat…
Stephan
November 18th, 2009 at 9:27 am
Hi Rik, the figures have been compilated by the Environmental Defense Fund based on more than 200 government databases and scientific studies on seafood contaminants, and determine how many meals per week it is safe to eat a particular type of fish. Please visit this website for more information:
http://www.edf.org/page.cfm?tagID=16263
Cheers, Stephan
Stephan
November 18th, 2009 at 9:28 am
Hi Thierry - I would not know whether or not the list provided by the Environmental Defense Fund is complete. I hav enot seen Ciguatera on the list - sorry… Stephan
Charlotte Vick
November 27th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
Stephan,
Would love to talk to you about putting some posts into OCEAN in Google Earth (Google Ocean) if you are interested. Your knowledge would be of particular use and it would lead more people back to your site and blog which are most informative.
Charlotte Vick
Communications - Deep Search Foundation (www.deepdeep.org)
Content Editor Ocean in Google Earth