Mercury contamination of whale and dolphin meat

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just as an aside...some types of tuna and a whole bunch of other fish and shellfish also has a high level of mercury. More info here: PBS article on mercury in fish

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Theres a wellknown relation of blood content of mercury and the amount of sea mammals you eat (and tuna fish too). Did some studies of the mercury levels of blood drawn from umbilical cords of babies born in Greenland while at university. They also have a lewel of lead at the same amount as you see in western industrial areas, that due to wind conditions.
The problem is not eating the accasional whalebeef or tunafish, the problem is when its a substantial part of your diet, like if you were living on the east coast of Greenland.
As tuna fish is also pretty high on the food chain your claim of 1 whalebeef is a serious risk to your health would mean something like 2 tuna steaks would be the same. Eat a can of tuna fish per week for 1 year and be ready for a skilled nursing facility.

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And I would still eat the accasional whalemeat if I can get it.

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I know that tuna also contains mercury- remember that whales and dolphins are at the top of the food chain and therefore have even higher concentrations of mercury and other persistent chemicals. The article states that tests came up with levels up to 29 times the "safe" limit and one of the people in the article calles the meat "toxic waste"- it would seem this isn't a minor problem.

Arctic peoples have the highest concentrations of these chemicals because the meat of sea mammals is one of their staples. Not so for anyone in Japan today.

My point is partly the unbalanced reporting in Japan. Huge fusses kicked up over sweets being sold past their use-by date and beef from the US that may contain mad-cow disease, toxicity of food imported from China etc, but almost complete silence on serious contamination of whale and dolphin meat- shades of Minamata.

Eat whale meat if you want, but eat it knowing the health risks, is what I'm saying. I personally wouldn't go anywhere near the stuff.

5

Why just whale meat?

I'd gamble that you don't eat beef, as that has as many health problems attached, the same with chicken.

Given that most people don't eat whale meat but gorge themselves on chicken and beef, shouldn't this be of more concern to most readers on Thorn Tree, or is this just a thinly disguised attack on Japanese Whaling - ( I say this as this is after all the Japan Thread)

.......And I can reveal the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is not 42.......almost definitely.....

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I am a vegetarian, yes- for health reasons. There is plenty of info out there about other kinds of meat, but not a lot of info on the contamination of whale and dolphin meat in Japan until now. Chicken and beef tend not to contain high levels of mercury, hence the emphasis on whale meat in my post.

Threads about eating whale have come up on here before, some people are keen to try whale meat when they come to Japan, others resident in Japan eat it regularly, hence my posting on the Japan branch. I am talking specifically about the contamination of whale and dolphin meat in Japan, I thought that was pretty clear.

What concerns me is the media blackout in Japan on this issue. Since some concrete info on the health risks is now starting to come out thanks to the councillors in Taiji, I wanted to put this info out there so that people can make an informed decision.

I said above "ethical and other arguments aside", and I am sincere about that. I have put the info out there, and I have now said all I plan to say on the topic.

7

In the context of visitors who turn in Japan looking for whale meat, your post does make sense,

I think you should post the same thing on the Nordic thread though, I'm married to a Finn and travelled all around the Nordic countries and like Japan, there are a small minoruty of die hards who think Whaling is good, it's a big topic out there.

Iceland and Norway have long had a pro whaling lobby check I think your advice about this should be on these threads too if not already.

.......And I can reveal the answer to Life, the Universe, and Everything is not 42.......almost definitely.....

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Thanks OP for the heads-up. :)
Cheers!

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if they stuck to coastal whaling, I'd say fine but this antartic nonsense and then claiming whaling is cultural (and yet scientific) is a bunch of BS.

Far be it for logic to stand in the face of overwhelming stupidity

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Yes I recall your earlier post about mercury in whale meat. I then searched and found the original report in Japanese here.

I may have said this in the previous thread but the most notable trend here is that levels were very low for Antarctic catches and most minkes. So I checked to see if I could buy just minkes and southern ocean catches. Turns out that they are often mixed up and it was very difficult if not impossible to do. Plus, the study indicated that labeling is often "improper", most likely meaning that the labeling isn't reliable anyway.

The study was done by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in 2003 and it is in the public domain. I didn't read the entire report but though it is statistically negative on whale products, it does do its best to couch it in positive, pro whaling language. But the figures are there for all to see and now we are properly informed. Needless to say, I will not be eating whale products here until significant changes are made and as kara says, this has nothing to do with the pros and cons of whaling.

#9,
Please keep your comments within the topic.

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WTF you need to eat whale in the first place?

Many Japanese used to eat it during Warld War 2 because of not enough protien, but you have McDonalds now.

Besides a few people who are living in limmited communities who grew up on Whale meat and were fead it in Elemantary School, most people in Japan are not interested in Whale meat.

I was told by Japanese people that the taste is not so nice, somewhat pugnant...

Well alexandar like conservative Japan, so eatting whale meat may make him feel more Japanese...

Try Toro or Kobe beef, I am sure you can afford it!

Igor The Troll travel blog

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Please keep your comments within the topic.

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What are you the thread monitor? Just because you got a bit angry on my whaling OP months back doesn't give you carte blanche to tell me how I should address any given topic as I choose. As it was I was not taking a strictly anti-whaling stance as you might fear since coastal whaling doesn't bother me as much. However what with mercury levels being higher in coastal areas it's rather a moot point.

I will take the topic further and say that this report is hardly something anti-whalers should get all back-slapping about thinking it yet another feather in their cap in the crusade to stop whaling or the dolphin slaughters. If anything it's terrible news. Hunting healthy whales would actually trouble me less than the knowledge that whales face a grave threat from mercury. Whalers really should be concerned as well. The whole marine eco-system is threaten from whales down to plankton and numerous land animals which feed upon them. Just saying "Oh, well, I won't eat a whale" or "here's a reason to stop whaling" is to miss the bigger picture. What's the point of ramming a few whaling boats when the whole species (yes, I know "whales" are not a species per say but that pedantic point hardly matters here) might be dead or severely reduced in a few decades if mercury levels and other contaminants are not significantly decreased.

Roger Payne who founded the Whale Conservation Institute in the 70s told National Geographic in 1979 that: pollution could replace the harpoon as the 'next mortal threat to whales." The present is confirming his prediction and not just with whales but dolphins and all kinds of fish.

I might sound like chicken-little or Al Gore but the facts are rather grim and the future not so bright if we do not stop polluting our waters along with everything else.

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What concerns me is the media blackout in Japan on this issue.

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Japanese whaling industry is a fragile thing though backed by big money it could be knocked out seriously by such reports whereas beef industries are far too extensive and powerful to be knocked out completely by mad cow reports. Even though this report pertains to dolphins and their harvesting in Taiji, it affects the whaling group as well since mercury content is high in them too.

This is rather chilling from the article and rather explains media reluctance over the issue:

One lab official said: "Sometimes happens big problem, I must confirm your purpose. . . . We cannot stand in opposite position of Fishery Agency. . . . If you publish our report, we'll have to close the lab."

The lab later conducted the test after learning the test-sample result would determine whether a potentially dangerous public-health hazard existed.

Also, during the dolphin drives and the animals' subsequent slaughter in Taiji, I was stalked nonstop by shady-looking characters just a few meters behind me wherever I went. Police also attempted to question me several times and, to my considerable consternation, all seemed to know my name exactly as written on my driver's license — even though only my hotel had a copy of my license.

Far be it for logic to stand in the face of overwhelming stupidity