Tuna mercury rising

Mercury levels in Hawaiian Yellowfin tuna – known as ahi on the plate – are on the rise, scientists report February 2 in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.

Data collected in 1998 and 2008 showed that mercury levels increased at a rate of about 3.8 percent per year, the researchers say. A tuna about 75 kilograms in size might have had about 0.4 parts per million of mercury in its body in 1998. In 2008, the same-sized fish would have had around 0.6 parts per million.

The tuna’s increase in toxic baggage mirrors increasing levels of mercury pollution from human activities, such as burning coal in power plants and mining.