Study: Mercury Levels Lower in Farmed Salmon Than Wild

SeaFood Business

(I Found this at SeaFoodSource.com and found it quite interesting.....)

June 4, 2008 - "Mercury and Other Trace Elements in Farmed and Wild Salmon from British Columbia, Canada," a report in the monthly journal Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry has found that mercury levels in British Columbia farmed salmon are lower than those in wild salmon.

The study, conducted by Fisheries and Ocean Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences and the University of British Columbia's Center for Aquaculture and Environmental Research, measured levels of mercury and other trace elements in commercial salmon feed, farmed Atlantic, coho and chinook salmon and wild coho, chinook, chum, sockeye and pink salmon.

Mercury levels tested in both farmed and wild salmon were well below Canadian consumption guidelines. The report states that mercury concentrations in the flesh of wild salmon were three times higher than in farmed.

The study also found that levels of other trace metals such as arsenic, cobalt, copper and cadmium in farmed salmon were not significantly higher than those in wild.

To read the entire study, go to www.allenpress.com/pdf/il552-8618-27-6-1361.pdf/