Mercury content in commercially available finfish in the United States

Seventy-seven finfish species (300 composites of three fish) were obtained from commercial vendors in six regions of the United States: Great Lakes, mid-Atlantic, New England, northwest, southeast, and southwest. Total mercury in fish muscle tissue ranged from 1 ppb (channel catfish) to 1,425 ppb (king mackerel). Of the top 10 most commonly consumed seafoods in the United States, all finfish species, including salmon species (13 to 62 ppb), Alaskan pollock (11 ppb), tilapia (16 ppb), channel catfish (1 ppb), Atlantic cod (82 ppb), and pangasius (swai) (2 ppb), had low total mercury concentrations. However, two large predatory species, king mackerel and swordfish (1,107 ppb), contained mercury concentrations above the current U.S. Food and Drug Administration action level of 1,000 ppb, indicating that consumers may be unaware that species that are high in mercury are being sold in the marketplace.