May 2001; Updated March 2004
Return to Advisory on Mercury in Seafood
See also Mercury in Fish: FDA Monitoring Program
SPECIES | MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM) | NO. OF SAMPLES | SOURCE OF DATA | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MEAN | MEDIAN | MIN | MAX | |||
MACKEREL KING | 0.73 | NA | 0.23 | 1.67 | 213 | GULF OF MEXICO REPORT 2000 |
SHARK | 0.99 | 0.83 | ND | 4.54 | 351 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SWORDFISH | 0.97 | 0.86 | 0.10 | 3.22 | 605 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
TILEFISH (Gulf of Mexico) | 1.45 | NA | 0.65 | 3.73 | 60 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SPECIES | MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM) | NO. OF SAMPLES | SOURCE OF DATA | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MEAN | MEDIAN | MIN | MAX | |||
ANCHOVIES | 0.04 | NA | ND | 0.34 | 40 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
BUTTERFISH | 0.06 | NA | ND | 0.36 | 89 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
CATFISH | 0.05 | ND | ND | 0.31 | 22 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
CLAMS | ND | ND | ND | ND | 6 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
COD | 0.11 | 0.10 | ND | 0.42 | 20 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
CRAB 3 | 0.06 | ND | ND | 0.61 | 59 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
CRAWFISH | 0.03 | 0.03 | ND | 0.05 | 21 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
CROAKER (Atlantic) | 0.05 | 0.05 | 0.01 | 0.10 | 21 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
FLATFISH 2 | 0.05 | 0.04 | ND | 0.18 | 22 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
HADDOCK | 0.03 | 0.04 | ND | 0.04 | 4 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
HAKE | 0.01 | ND | ND | 0.05 | 9 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
HERRING | 0.04 | NA | ND | 0.14 | 38 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
JACKSMELT | 0.11 | 0.06 | 0.04 | 0.50 | 16 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
LOBSTER (Spiny) | 0.09 | 0.14 | ND | 0.27 | 9 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
MACKEREL ATLANTIC (N. Atlantic) |
0.05 | NA | 0.02 | 0.16 | 80 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
MACKEREL CHUB (Pacific) | 0.09 | NA | 0.03 | 0.19 | 30 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
MULLET | 0.05 | NA | ND | 0.13 | 191 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
OYSTERS | ND | ND | ND | 0.25 | 34 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
PERCH OCEAN | ND | ND | ND | 0.03 | 6 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
PICKEREL | ND | ND | ND | 0.06 | 4 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
POLLOCK | 0.06 | ND | ND | 0.78 | 37 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SALMON (Canned) | ND | ND | ND | ND | 23 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SALMON (Fresh/Frozen) | 0.01 | ND | ND | 0.19 | 34 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SARDINE | 0.02 | 0.01 | ND | 0.04 | 22 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
SCALLOPS | 0.05 | NA | ND | 0.22 | 66 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SHAD (American) | 0.07 | NA | ND | 0.22 | 59 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SHRIMP | ND | ND | ND | 0.05 | 24 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SQUID | 0.07 | NA | ND | 0.40 | 200 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
TILAPIA | 0.01 | ND | ND | 0.07 | 9 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
TROUT (Freshwater) | 0.03 | 0.02 | ND | 0.13 | 17 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
TUNA (Canned, Light) | 0.12 | 0.08 | ND | 0.85 | 131 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
WHITEFISH | 0.07 | 0.05 | ND | 0.31 | 25 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
WHITING | ND | ND | ND | ND | 2 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SPECIES | MERCURY CONCENTRATION (PPM) | NO. OF SAMPLES | SOURCE OF DATA | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
MEAN | MEDIAN | MIN | MAX | |||
BASS (Saltwater)1 | 0.27 | 0.15 | 0.06 | 0.96 | 35 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
BLUEFISH | 0.31 | 0.30 | 0.14 | 0.63 | 22 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
BUFFALOFISH | 0.19 | 0.14 | 0.05 | 0.43 | 4 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
CARP | 0.14 | 0.14 | 0.01 | 0.27 | 2 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
CROAKER WHITE (Pacific) | 0.29 | 0.28 | 0.18 | 0.41 | 15 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
GROUPER | 0.55 | 0.44 | 0.07 | 1.21 | 22 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
HALIBUT | 0.26 | 0.20 | ND | 1.52 | 32 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
LOBSTER (Northern/American) | 0.31 | NA | 0.05 | 1.31 | 88 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
MACKEREL SPANISH (Gulf of Mexico) |
0.45 | NA | 0.07 | 1.56 | 66 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
MACKEREL SPANISH (S. Atlantic) |
0.18 | NA | 0.05 | 0.73 | 43 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
MARLIN | 0.49 | 0.39 | 0.10 | 0.92 | 16 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
MONKFISH | 0.18 | NA | 0.02 | 1.02 | 81 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
ORANGE ROUGHY | 0.54 | 0.56 | 0.30 | 0.80 | 26 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
PERCH (Freshwater) | 0.14 | 0.15 | ND | 0.31 | 5 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
SABLEFISH | 0.22 | NA | ND | 0.70 | 102 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SCORPIONFISH | 0.29 | NA | 0.02 | 1.35 | 78 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SHEEPSHEAD | 0.13 | NA | 0.02 | 0.63 | 59 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SKATE | 0.14 | NA | 0.04 | 0.36 | 56 | NMFS REPORT 1978 |
SNAPPER | 0.19 | 0.12 | ND | 1.37 | 25 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
TILEFISH (Atlantic) | 0.15 | 0.10 | 0.06 | 0.53 | 17 | FDA SURVEY 2002-03 |
TUNA (Canned, Albacore) | 0.35 | 0.34 | ND | 0.85 | 179 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
TUNA (Fresh/Frozen) | 0.38 | 0.30 | ND | 1.30 | 131 | FDA SURVEY 1990-02 |
WEAKFISH (Sea Trout) | 0.25 | 0.16 | ND | 0.74 | 27 | FDA SURVEY 1990-03 |
Source of data: FDA Surveys 1990-2003
"National Marine Fisheries Service Survey of Trace Elements in the Fishery Resource" Report 1978
"The Occurrence of Mercury in the Fishery Resources of the Gulf of Mexico" Report 2000
Market share calculation based on 2001 National Marine Fisheries Service published landings data
* Mercury was measured as Total Mercury and/or Methylmercury
ND - mercury concentration below the Level of Detection (LOD=0.01ppm)
NA - data not available
1 Includes: Sea bass/ Striped Bass/ Rockfish
2 Includes: Flounder, Plaice, Sole
3 Includes: Blue, King, Snow
Current data on Mercury Levels in Fish and Shellfish January 2006