A while back I reviewed the many seafood guides and the various ways they rank seafood choices. They do share one thing in common, however, and that’s the special denotation of certain species as hazardous to human health because of toxin load. Specifically, high levels of mercury and PCBs as found by an Environmental Defense study.
First, kudos to EDF for making their data have immediate impact. Other studies of toxins in fish have sat around for literally decades before becoming part of the mainstream discourse about fisheries. But it does beg the question, what makes mercury and PCBs so important among the myriad toxins in our oceans and our seafood?
Charlie packed up for his ascent up Cedar Rock.
Charlie chills out at base camp.
Last week, I wrote about National Geographic’s Expedition Great White. In that post, I mentioned that the practice of removing great white sharks from the water for research was controversial, and that I would ask the lead scientist in the show about it. Here are answers to my questions from Dr. Michael Domeier and his colleague Nicole Lucas. They also wanted me to point out that their website has an FAQ page about this technique, which can be found here.
Read More “Expedition Great White: A response from Dr. Michael Domeier” »
Charlie, William, and the Southern Fried Scientist cross a river.
Charlie and the Southern Fried Scientist hit the trail.
Charlie and the Vandovernauts pause for pictures at Courthouse Falls.
Charlie flies in for another shot at Courthouse Falls.