Re: Contaminates in Salmon

Source: American Chemical Society

Date: 2005-08-09

Grizzlies And Salmon: Too Much Of A Good Thing?

Even grizzly bears should watch what they eat. It turns out that
grizzlies that gorge themselves on salmon during the summer spawning
season have much higher levels of contaminants in their bodies than
their cousins who rely more on berries, plants and insects, according
to Peter Ross of Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

Reporting in an article to be published Sept. 15 in the American
Chemical Society journal, Environmental Science & Technology, Canadian
researchers say the difference in the concentration of persistent
organic pollutants (POPs) is "profound" between grizzly bears who
eat lots of salmon and those that don't. The measurements were made
by examining hair and fat samples from two groups of grizzly bears in
the British Columbia region of Canada. One group included bears that
had a steady diet of terrestrial foods, the other group included bears
that shifted to marine food when the salmon returned from the Pacific
Ocean to spawn.

Although the overall contaminant concentrations in the grizzlies are
lower than many other species of animals that consume marine food, the
researchers - from Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the
University of Victoria and Raincoast Conversation Society - say the
reproductive window of the bears could be vulnerable to health impacts.

Editor's Note: The original news release can be found here.
http://acswebapplications.acs.org/applications/ccs/application/index.cfm?PressReleaseID=2515&categoryid=4

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This story has been adapted from a news release issued by American
Chemical Society.

John Sankey said:

I certainly wouldn't quit eating Alaskan salmon on the basis of a
news report of a study thousands of miles south that omits all
numbers. I've asked the author to let me know a few essential
details (hopefully I'll get a preprint) and follow up. As far as
I'm concerned, Alaska pink salmon is one of the healthiest
sustainable foods we can get these days.

"John Sankey" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

I certainly wouldn't quit eating Alaskan salmon on the basis of a
news report of a study thousands of miles south that omits all
numbers. I've asked the author to let me know a few essential
details (hopefully I'll get a preprint) and follow up. As far as
I'm concerned, Alaska pink salmon is one of the healthiest
sustainable foods we can get these days.

Yes, possibly. But beware of farmed salmon
and Atlantic salmon.

http://www.oceansalive.org/eat.cfm?subnav=bestandworst

GWC