California Fish Laced with Mercury

According to the results of a long-stewing state-funded research project, certain types of fish off the California coastline are laced with potentially dangerous levels of mercury. Part of California’s Water Resources Control Board’s multi-year effort to better understand just how polluted the fish may or may not be, the study focused on the landings of recreational fishermen in Los Angeles and San Francisco (plus a few points of data from trips out of Ventura Harbor). It concluded that, though most samples tested “moderate” for mercury and PCB levels, certain fish, such as kelp bass and spotted sand bass as well as various sharks, often tested unhealthily high for mercury. The results for Central Coast-specific sampling will be released next year, with samples from inland water sources due out in 2013.