Environ. Sci. Technol. 2003, 37, 2681-2685
Mercury Contamination in the Red Meat of Whales and Dolphins Marketed for Human Consumption in Japan T . E N D O , * ,† Y . H O T T A , † K. HARAGUCHI,‡ AND M. SAKATA† Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, 1757, Ishikari-Tobetsu, Hokkaido 061-0293, Japan, and Daiichi College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 22-1 Tamagawa-Cho, Minami-Ku, Fukuoka 815-8511, Japan
Cetacean products sold for human consumption in Japan originate from a wide range of whale, dolphin, and porpoise species caught off several areas of the Japan coast, Antarctic and North Pacific Oceans. We surveyed the total mercury (T-Hg) levels in red meat, the most popular cetacean products in Japan. We also analyzed the DNA of these to obtain information regarding species. According to the genetic analysis, the red meats originating from nine species of odontocete and six species of mystecete were sold in Japanese markets. T-Hg concentrations in all odontocete red meats (0.52-81.0 µg/wet g, n ) 137) exceeded the provisional permitted level of T-Hg in marine foods set by the Japanese government (0.4 µg/wet g). The highest and second highest levels of T-Hg in the red meats were found in the false killer whale (81.0 µg/wet g) and striped dolphin (63.4 µg/wet g), respectively. These concentrations of T-Hg exceeded the permitted level of T-Hg by about 200 and 160 times, respectively, suggesting the possibility of chronic intoxication by methyl mercury due to frequent consumption of odontocete red meats. The T-Hg concentration levels were higher in odontocete species such as Baird’s beaked whales and pilot whales caught off southern areas than those caught off northern areas, probably reflecting a higher Hg concentration in the seawater and/or their diet (squid and fish) in the southern area. On the other hand, T-Hg concentrations in all mystecete red meat samples except for one (0.01-0.54 µg/ wet g, n ) 62) were below the permitted level of T-Hg, probably reflecting their lower trophic levels.
Introduction The consumption of whale products in Japan has decreased since 1986, due to a significant reduction in Japanese whaling as a consequence of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium of commercial whaling. The halt in the commercial whaling of larger types of whales has resulted in an increased demand and increased price of dolphin products as a substitute for whale products (1). Today, there are five legal sources for whale products (including dolphins * Corresponding author phone: +81-1332-3-1211 ext 3158; fax: +81-1332-3-1376; e-mail:
[email protected]. † Health Sciences University of Hokkaido. ‡ Daiichi College of Pharmaceutical Sciences. 10.1021/es034055n CCC: $25.00 Published on Web 05/07/2003
2003 American Chemical Society
and porpoises) in Japan: scientific research whaling of baleen bearing whales; small-type coastal whaling (STCW) of toothed whales; drive and hand harpoon fisheries of small whale, dolphins, and porpoises; incidental take and stranding; and long-time stock (2). Japan’s research whaling comprises the taking of Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and North Pacific minke whales (Balaenoptera acuturostrata), extended in the North Pacific to Bryde’s whales (Balaenoptera edeni) and sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus) in 2000 and to sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis) in 2002. North Pacific minkes form at least two stocks: the “O” stock, found in offshore Pacific waters, and the “J” stock, which occupies the Sea of Japan (3). Japanese scientific whaling supplied around 2400 tonnes of whale products originating from minke and Bryde’s whales in 2000, and these products were sold across Japanese markets (1). STCW supplied about 730 tonnes of whale products in 2000 from 62 Baird’s beaked whales (Berardius bairdii), 20 Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus), and 100 pilot whales (Globicephale macrorhynchus) (1, 4). Abashiri and Hakodate (Hokkaido Prefecture), Ayukawa (Miyagi Prefecture), and Wada (Chiba Prefecture) have quotas of 2, 8, 26, and 26 Baird’s beaked whales, respectively (see Figure 1). Ayukawa also has an annual quota of 50 pilot whale catch, and Wada and Taiji (Wakayama Prefecture) each have a quota of 25 pilot whales. Risso’s dolphins are caught off Taiji and nearby areas not only by STCW but also by drive fishery. Pilot whales are also caught off Nago (Okinawa Prefecture) by hand harpoon fishery. About 17 000 Dall’s porpoises (Phocoenoides dalli) are annually caught by hand harpoon in the North Pacific and are mainly landed at Otsuchi harbor (Iwate Prefecture). Furthermore, several species of small cetaceans such as bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba), pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis), and false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) are caught by drive and/or hand harpoon fishery, mainly in Wakayama and Okinawa Prefectures. About 990 tonnes of whale products were supplied by drive and hand harpoon fisheries in 2000 (1). These odontocete products, supplied from STCW and drive and hand harpoon fisheries, are consumed locally in the coastal whaling areas and are also marketed across Japan. As odontocete occupy the top of marine food web, feeding mainly on fish and squid, and are long-lived animals, they biomagnify marine pollutants such as heavy metals and organochlorine compounds (5, 6). Among the pollutants, contamination with mercury (Hg) is prominent. A high level of Hg is known to accumulate not only in the internal organs but also in the muscle of odontocete (7-10). The red meat (muscle) is the most popular whale product sold for human consumption in Japan. To our knowledge, the maximal concentration of total mercury (T-Hg) in muscle so far reported was 56.8 µg/wet g in a bottlenose dolphin caught off Japan (11) and 81.2 µg/wet g in a striped dolphin caught in the Mediterranean (9). On the other hand, the contamination level of Hg in the red meat originating from baleenbearing whales (mystecete) is generally lower than that from odontocete, because mystecete are primarily planktivorous or have a mixed diet of plankton and fish and, therefore, generally feed at lower trophic levels where biomagnification of pollutants is less significant (5, 6). From previous surveys (5, 6), most of the odontocete red meats caught off Japan appears to contain high levels of Hg, exceeding the provisional permitted level of T-Hg (0.4 µg/ wet g) in marine foods set by the Japanese Ministry of Health, VOL. 37, NO. 12, 2003 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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FIGURE 1. Map of whaling towns, warm current (Kuroshio), and cold current (Oyashio) around Japan. Labor and Welfare (JMHLW) (12). Honda (7) analyzed the T-Hg concentrations in the muscle, liver, and kidney of several species of odontocete caught off Japan. His data also suggest high contamination levels of T-Hg in the red meats originating from odontocete species. However, no detailed survey of Hg contamination levels in the odontocete products sold for human consumption in Japan has yet been undertaken or made available to the public. Furthermore, in Japan, little attention has been paid to the potential human health problems associated with this source of Hg. The aim of the present study was to survey the level of T-Hg contamination in the red meat of cetaceans marketed for human consumption in Japan. Japanese cetacean products originate from a wide range of whale, dolphin, and porpoise species, caught off several areas of the Japan coast, Antarctic and North Pacific Oceans (1), and the Hg contamination levels vary considerably according to species and area (7). Therefore, we contrast the contamination levels of T-Hg in the red meat among species and among areas and discuss the potential for human health problems related to the consumption of whale products. 2682
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Materials and Methods Sampling. Fresh or frozen red meat from cetaceans was purchased in Japan between 2000 and 2002. The samples originating from mysticete were purchased from retail outlets across Japan. On the other hand, the samples originating from odontocete were purchased in and around Abashiri, Hakodate, Otsuchi, Ayukawa, Wada, Taiji, and Nago, unless stated otherwise (see Figure 1). We visited these towns during the permitted whaling seasons and purchased the samples from vendors or processors. To minimize duplicate sampling of the same animal, we purchased only one package from each vendor and processor or a few packages labeled at different dates of manufacture. These samples were stored at -20 °C until analysis. Chemical Analyses. T-Hg in the red meat was analyzed using a flameless atomic absorption spectrophotometer (Hiranuma Sangyo Co. Ltd., HG-1) after digestion by a mixture of HNO3, HClO4, and H2SO4 (13). DOLT-2 (National Research Council of Canada) was used as an analytical quality of T-Hg. The certified and measured values of T-Hg in DOLT-2 were
TABLE 1. Total Mercury Concentrations in Red Meats Originating from Odontocetea species
total mercury
(no. of sample and range)
Dall’s porpoise Baird’s beaked whale pantropical spotted dolphin Risso’s dolphin rough-toothed dolphin pilot whale bottlenose dolphin striped dolphin false killer whale
1.26 ( 0.53 1.64 ( 1.26 4.72 ( 0.39 5.42 ( 4.68 6.00 7.59 ( 6.12 9.55 ( 6.01 15.0 ( 27.1 46.9 ( 29.7
(n ) 17, 0.52-2.51) (n ) 60, 0.43-6.46) (n ) 3, 4.28-5.02) (n ) 15, 1.70-20.3) (n ) 2, 2.01, and 9.98) (n ) 23, 1.33-23.1) (n ) 9, 2.36-22.5) (n ) 5, 1.04-63.4) (n ) 3, 27.3-81.0)
a
Mean ( SD of total mercury (µg/wet g).
1.99 ( 0.10 and 1.88 ( 0.08 (n ) 3) µg/g, respectively. T-Hg concentrations in the red meats presented were based on wet weight. DNA analysis was undertaken to elucidate the species origin according to the method of Baker et al. (14). All of the red meat samples originating from mystecete were genetically analyzed to determine their species. In odontocete, all the red meat samples purchased from Nago, most of those purchased from Taiji and the nearby area, and a part of those purchased from the other towns were genetically analyzed. Species of origin of the red meat, not genetically analyzed, was determined from labeling, verbal explanation by the salesclerk, appearance, location, and season. Of course, the red meat contaminated with the highest concentration of T-Hg among the estimated species group (Table 1) was genetically analyzed to confirm the species.
Results Table 1 shows the T-Hg concentrations in red meat originating from odontocete marketed in Japan for human consumption. All T-Hg concentrations in the red meat samples (n ) 137) exceeded the permitted level of T-Hg in marine food (0.4 µg/wet g) set by JMHLW (12). Nine species of odontocete were identified by DNA analysis: false killer whale, striped dolphin, bottlenose dolphin, pilot whale, rough-toothed dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, panatropical spotted dolphin, Baird’s beaked whale, and Dall’s porpoise. The red meats originating from false killer whales contained the highest level of T-Hg (46.9 ( 29.7 µg/wet g), although the sample size (n ) 3) was limited: one sample (81.0 µg/wet g) was purchased from Nago in 2001, and the others (27.3 and 32.3 µg/wet g) were purchased from Taiji and nearby area in 2002. The second and third highest most contaminated samples originated from striped dolphins (13.3 ( 22.3 µg/ wet g) and bottlenose dolphins (9.55 ( 6.01 µg/wet g), respectively. One striped dolphin sample (63.4 µg/wet g) was purchased from the Tokyo Metropolitan area (probably caught off Taiji or its vicinity) in 2001, and the others were purchased from Taiji or Nago. The red meats originating from bottlenose dolphins were purchased from Taiji and Nago. The pilot whale samples were purchased from Ayukawa, Wada, Taiji, Nago, and these vicinities (4). The red meat samples originating from rough-toothed dolphins and pantropical spotted dolphins were purchased from Nago, and those of Risso’s dolphin were purchased from Taiji and its vicinity. The samples originating from Dall’s porpoises and Baird’s beaked whales were purchased in and around Otsuchi and in and around Abashiri, Hakodate, Ayukawa, and Wada, respectively, and their T-Hg contamination levels were the lowest and the second lowest among the nine species, respectively. Species of some samples, thought to be from pilot whales, Risso’s dolphins, Dall’s porpoises, and Baird’s beaked whales, have not yet been genetically analyzed.
FIGURE 2. Comparison of total mercury concentrations in red meats originating from pilot whales and Baird’s beaked whales purchased from several towns. Each bar represents the mean with SD. Number of Baird’s beaked whale samples purchased in and around Wada, Aukawa, Hakodate, and Abashiri were 28, 14, 15, and 3, respectively, and those of pilot whale samples purchased in and around Nago, Taiji, Wada, and Ayukawa were 5, 11, 3, and 4, respectively.
TABLE 2. Total Mercury Concentrations in Red Meats Originating from Mystecetea (no. of sample and range)
species
total mercury
Southern Minke whale North Pacific Minke whale (O) North Pacific Minke whale (J) Bryde’s whale fin whale sei whale
0.03 ( 0.02 0.10 ( 0.14
(n ) 22, 0.01-0.08) (n ) 13, 0.01-0.54)
0.09 ( 0.05
(n ) 10, 0.05-0.14)
0.08 ( 0.06 0.07 ( 0.08 0.02
(n ) 10, 0.03-0.22) (n ) 6, 0.03-0.22) (n ) 2, 0.01, and 0.03)
a
Mean ( SD of total mercury (µg/wet g).
We compared T-Hg concentrations in Baird’s beaked whales and pilot whales purchased in and around four towns (Figure 2). Among the four whaling towns (Abashiri, Hakodate, Ayukawa, and Wada), the average T-Hg concentration in samples from Baird’s beaked whales purchased in and around Abashiri, the northernmost town, was the lowest, and that in and around Wada, the southernmost town, was the highest. T-Hg concentration tended to increase with a decrease in latitude. Similarly, the average T-Hg in samples of pilot whales purchased in and around Ayukawa, the northernmost town among the four, was the lowest, and that in Nago, the southernmost town, was the highest. Table 2 shows T-Hg concentrations in mystecete (n ) 62). DNA analysis identified Southern minke whale, North Pacific minke whales from O- and J-stocks, Bryde’s whale, fin whale, and sei whale. Except for one sample from a North Pacific minke whale from the J-stock purchased in 2000, all concentrations of T-Hg were below the permitted limit (0.4 µg/wet g) set by JMHLW (12). T-Hg contamination levels in North Pacific minke whales from both stocks were slightly higher than those in Southern minke whales. As the red meats samples originating from fin and sei whales were purchased between 2000 and 2001, these meats may have been supplied from incidental take, stranding, long-time stocks, or illegal sources.
Discussion We surveyed the T-Hg concentrations in red meats marketed for human consumption originating from nine species of odonotocete (Table 1) and six species of mystecete (Table 2). All T-Hg concentrations in red meat originating from VOL. 37, NO. 12, 2003 / ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
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odontocete (n ) 137) exceeded the provisional permitted level of T-Hg in marine foods (0.4 µg/wet g) set by the Japanese government (12). The highest concentration of T-Hg was about 80 µg/wet g in a sample from a false killer whale, being 200 times higher than the permitted level. There is to our knowledge no information published on mercury levels in false killer whales. Honda (7) analyzed the distribution of T-Hg in several species of whales, dolphins, and porpoises caught off Japan. According to his data, T-Hg concentration levels in the muscles of Baird’s beaked whales caught off Wada, Dall’s porpoises caught in the Bering sea and North Pacific Ocean, pilot whales caught off Ayukawa, and striped dolphins caught off Taiji were 1.56 ( 1.11 (n ) 37), 0.90 ( 0.56 (n ) 47), 2.78 ( 0.80 (n ) 31), and 7.02 ( 4.07 (n ) 59), respectively. These values roughly agree with those found for red meats marketed for human consumption in this study (Table 1 and Figure 2). Beside Hg, odontocete products are also highly contaminated with organochlorine compounds (5, 6). About 40% of cetacean products marketed in Japan are from the odontocete (1). Despite the high levels of contaminants, odontocete products are available in Japan without any regulation. The highest T-Hg value in red meat from the striped dolphins groups was 63.4 µg/wet g (Table 1), and the highest T-Hg in liver originating from either striped, bottlenose, or common dolphin was about 2000 µg/wet g (13): the T-Hg concentration in liver was about 30 times higher than that in the red meat. A similar distribution pattern of T-Hg between liver and muscle (red meat) was found in the data of striped dolphins (7). Andre et al. (9) reported extremely high concentrations of T-Hg in the muscle of striped dolphins caught in the Mediterranean, with the three highest values being 60.0, 68.1, and 81.2 µg/wet g. The Japanese provisional permitted level of methyl mercury (M-Hg) was issued as 0.3 µg/wet g (12), based on the facts that the provisional tolerable weekly intake (PTWI) of M-Hg is 200 µg/60 kg bw/week set by WHO (15) and Japanese eat about 760 g/50 kg bw/week of marine foods, in addition to the data from epidemiological research of Minamada disease and experimental animals. Demethylation of M-Hg is reported to occur in cetacean body (16, 17), resulting in a low percentage of M-Hg to T-Hg in whale red meat. In this study, the highest and the second highest of T-Hg in the red meat samples were 81.0 µg T-Hg/wet g in false killer whale and 63.4 µg T-Hg/wet g in striped dolphin, which contained 13.4 and 26.2 µg M-Hg/wet g, respectively (our unpublished data). Consumption of 60 g of false killer whale and striped dolphin meats at one meal per week would exceed by 4.0 and 7.9 times the PTWI, respectively. Recently, the U.S. EPA (18) issued the reference dose (RfD) of M-Hg as 0.1 µg/kg bw/day, based on the benchmark dose level of 1.0 µg/kg bw/day. RfD (0.1 µg/kg bw/day) corresponds to only 21% of PTWI (200 µg/60 kg bw/week) set by WHO (15). We are investigating the toxic effect of Hg-contaminated red meats using experimental animals: As expected, oral administration of the homogenate of false killer whale red meat for 7 consecutive days (0.5 g red meat/kg bw/day) apparently increased the T-Hg concentrations in the rat kidney, liver, and cerebrum (our unpublished data). People living in the Faroe Islands, Denmark, have traditionally eaten pilot whales, and the consumption of this species of whale is one of the main sources of Hg in humans: The average T-Hg in the red meat from pilot whales was reported to be 3.3 µg/wet g (19). Since the government of the Faroe Islands has recognized that environmental pollutants such as Hg and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) enter the body of pregnant women through the consumption of pilot whale products and may cause potentially serious developmental damage to their infants, they issued some recommendations for pilot whale products consumption to the 2684
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public in 1998 (20). (1) Adults should only eat blubber and meat once or twice a month. (2) Girls and women should not eat blubber until they have given birth to all their children. (3) Meat should not be eaten within 3 months of planned pregnancy and not eaten at all by pregnant and nursing women. (4) Organs (i.e. liver and kidney) should not be eaten at all. As a result of these recommendations, the average T-Hg in maternal hair (an indicator of T-Hg burden) decreased from 4.7 µg/g in 1994 to 2.1 µg/g in 1999-2000 (19). It is noteworthy that T-Hg levels of odontocete red meats except for Dall’s porpoises and Baird’s beaked whales marketed for human consumption in Japan (Table 1) are higher than that of pilot whales in the Faroe Islands (3.3 µg/wet g). In 2001, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (U.S. FDA) (21) called attention to the fact that pregnant women and women of childbearing age (high risk population) should not eat longer-living and larger fishes that feed on other fish such as shark, swordfish, mackerel, and tilefish (averages T-Hg is above 1.0 µg/wet g), because they may contain enough M-Hg to damage the fetus’s nervous system. The UK Food and Standard Agency (UK FSA) (22) also called similar attention in 2002 that high risk population should not eat shark, swordfish, and marlin because their average of T-Hg in these fishes is about 1.5 µg/wet g. Contamination levels of Hg in odontocete red meats except for Dall’s porpoises and Baird’s beaked whales (Table 1) were markedly higher than those of fishes. The data about the amount of whale consumption are necessary for determining the regulation. As odontocetes readily accumulate pollutants such as Hg and PCBs, higher ambient Hg levels in southern regions may be a possible cause for the increasing pollutant burden in odonotocetes from lower latitudes (Figure 2), although sample sizes of Baird’s beaked whale caught off Abashiri (n ) 3) and those of pilot whale caught off Ayukawa (n ) 4), Wada (n ) 3), and Nago (n ) 5) were small. As odontocete readily accumulates pollutants such as Hg and PCBs from seawater into their bodies via the food web, higher Hg concentration in southern seawater and/or their diet (squid and fish) may be a possible cause for the latitude-dependent tendency (Figure 2). According to Weiss et al. (23), the main source of natural Hg in oceans is the degassing of the Earth’s crust by way of the atmosphere. Higher Hg body burden of striped dolphins living in the Kuroshio area (warm current) is implied by natural and local anthropogenic supplies of Hg (7) (see Figure 1), although there are no relevant and current data. Matsunaga et al. (24) measured Hg concentrations in surface of seawater at several points around Japan. Although no marked differences were observed in Hg concentrations, analysis of their data as a function of Hg concentration and latitude showed that a decrease in latitude is inversely correlated with Hg concentration in seawater (γ ) 0.675, n ) 8, p < 0.10). Fujise et al. (25) analyzed the body burdens of Hg and Cd in Dall’s porpoises and these metal concentrations in seawater and their diet: the Hg burden in the porpoises caught in the North Pacific was higher than that in those caught in the Bering sea, while the Cd burden in the former was lower than in the latter, reflecting differences in the Hg and Cd concentrations in their diet rather than in the seawater. The determination of Hg concentrations not only in the seawater but also in diet is necessary to elucidate the latitude-dependent contamination (Figure 2). Andre et al. (9) compared Hg accumulation in striped dolphins from the French Atlantic and the Mediterranean coasts and reported higher Hg accumulation in the dolphins from Mediterranean coasts, probably reflecting higher Hg deposits in the Mediterranean basin. The Hg level in the red meat was higher in North Pacific minke whales than in Southern minke whales (Table 2). Similar results have been reported previously, because the
former whales eat not only plankton but also small fish and squid (5, 6, 26). No differences in Hg contamination levels between O- and J-stocks were observed. Recently, cetacean products supplied from scientific research whaling were examined for toxic pollutants before the sale. As a result, all red meats marketed, except for one minke whale sample collected in 2000, were below the permitted level of T-Hg (Table 2), and the products from sperm whales, caught in 2000, were prohibited for the sale because of high contamination with T-Hg (the highest T-Hg in muscle was 4.6 µg/wet g) and PCBs (26). Odontocete products, supplied from STCW and from drive and hand harpoon fisheries, should also be examined for toxic pollutants before sale. In conclusion, the odontocete red meat samples were highly contaminated with Hg, and all their concentrations were higher than the provisional permitted levels set by JMHLW (12). More attention must be paid to the need for these recommendations for consumption of odontocete and longer-living and larger fishes issued by the Faroes Island, the U.S. EPA, and the UK FSA. Levels of T-Hg in cetaceans markedly varied according to species (Table 1) and living area (Figure 2). Furthermore, the Hg contamination level is reported to vary according to age, gender, and season (13, 16, 27-30). A larger scale survey focusing on these factors is necessary to fully elucidate the actual contamination levels of Hg in the cetacean products marketed for human consumption in Japan.
Acknowledgments The authors thank Dr. T. Ando, Kagoshima University, for his helpful discussion of mercury concentrations in seawater. This work is supported by Grants-in-Aid from Japan Society for the Promotion of Science to T.E. (C 14572112) and K.H. 12672180). This work is also supported by Grant-in-Aid from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).
Literature Cited (1) Fujise, Y.; Goto, M. Geiken-Tsushin, No. 415, Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo, 2002; http://www.icrwhale.org/ Geiken1.htm. (2) Ishihara, A.; Yoshii, J. A survey of the commercial trade whale meat products in Japan; Traffic East Asia-Japan,: 2000, Tokyo. (3) Dalebout, M, L.; Lento, G. M.; Cipriano, F.; Funahashi, N.; Baker, C. S. Anim. Conserv. 2002, 5, 143. (4) Iwasaki, T.; Kishio, T.; Kato, H. In Toward the sustainable use of cetacean stock studies; Kato, H., Ohsumi, S., Eds.; Seibutsu Kenkyusha Co. Ltd.: Tokyo, 2002; pp 54-63. (5) Haraguchi, K.; Endo, T.; Sakata, M.; Masuda, Y. J. Food Hyg. Soc. Jpn. 2000, 41, 287. (6) Simmonds, M. P.; Haraguchi, K.; Endo, T.; Cipriano, F.; Palumbi, S. R.; Troisi, G. M. J. Toxicol. Environ. Health A 2002, 65, 1211.
(7) Honda, K. In Biology of Marine Mammals; Miyazaki, N., Kasuya, T., Eds.; Scientist Inc.: Tokyo, 1990; pp 242-253. (8) Itano, K.; Kawai, S.; Miyazaki, N.; Tatsukawa, R.; Fujiyama, T. Agric. Biol. Chem. 1984, 48, 1109. (9) Andre, J. M.; Boudou, A.; Ribeyre, F.; Bernhard, M. Sci. Total Environ. 1991, 104, 191. (10) Leonzio, C.; Focardi, S.; Fossi, C. Sci. Total Environ. 1992, 119, 77. (11) Arima, S.; Nagakura, K. Bull. Jpn. Soc. Sci. Fish 1979, 45, 623. (12) JMHLW. Provisional standard of mercury in fish and selfish, Director-General of Environmental Health Bureau, Japanese Ministry of Health, Laborer and Welfare, Notification No. 99, 1973. (13) Endo, T.; Haraguchi, K.; Sakata, M. Sci. Total Environ. 2002, 300, 15-22. (14) Baker, C. S.; Cipriano, F.; Palumbi, S. R. Mol. Ecol. 1996, 5, 671. (15) WHO. Evaluation of certain food additives and contaminations mercury, lead, and cadmium: sixteenth report of the joint FAO/ WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives; Geneva, WHO Technical Reports Series, No. 631, 1972. (16) Meador, J. P.; Ernest, D.; Hohn, A. A.; Tilbury, K.; Gorzelany, J.; Worthy, G.; Stein, J. E. Arch. Environ. Contam. Toxicol. 1990, 36, 87. (17) Wagemann, R.; Trebacz, E.; Boila, G.; Lockhart, W. L. Sci. Total Environ. 1998, 218, 19. (18) U.S. EPA. Mercury study report in congress; Washington, DC, 1997. (19) Murata, K.; Dakeishi, M. Jpn. J. Hyg. 2002, 57, 564. (20) Anonymous. Diet recommendation concerning pilot whale meat and blubber-Faroe Island, August 1988, Food and Environment Agency, Department of Occupational and Public Health, Chief Medical Officer, Advisory Note. (21) U.S. FDA. FDA announces advisory on methyl mercury in fish. FDA Talk Paper, T01-04, 2001. (22) UK FSA. Precautionary advice on eating shark, swordfish and marlin. Ref 2002/0218, 2002. (23) Weiss, H. V.; Koide, M.; Goldberg, E. D. Science 1971, 174, 692. (24) Matsunaga, K.; Nishimura, M.; Konishi, S. Nature 1975, 258, 224 (25) Fujise, Y.; Yasunaga, G.; Tanabe, S. In Towad the sustainable use of cetacean stock studies; Kato, H., Ohsumi, S., Eds.; Seibutsu Kenkyusha Co. Ltd.: Tokyo, 2002; pp 153-161. (26) Anonymous. Press release, September 2002, Geiken-Tsushin, Institute of Cetacean Research, Tokyo, http://icrwhale.org/03A-b-06-1.htm. (27) Honda, K.; Tatsukawa, R.; Itano, K.; Miyazaki, N.; Fujiyama, T. Agric. Biol. Chem. 1983, 47, 1219. (28) Itano, K.; Miyazaki, N.; Fujiyama, T. Agric. Biol. Chem. 1983, 47, 1219. (29) Andre, J. M.; Ribeyre, F.; Boudou, A. Mar. Environ. Res. 1990, 30, 43. (30) Holsbeek, L.; Siebert, U.; Joiris, C. R. Sci. Total Environ. 1998, 217, 241.
Received for review January 20, 2003. Revised manuscript received March 21, 2003. Accepted March 26, 2003. ES034055N
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