Pacific seafood sustained native populations for millennia. Today, fishermen depend on healthy marine species for their livelihoods, and consumers eat Pacific seafood by the ton – sometimes in hope of improving their health, and sometimes in search of gustatory satisfaction. Now that radioactive water has been leaking steadily into the ocean from the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, concerns over the safety of Pacific seafood are mounting.
Is Pacific Seafood Safe to Eat?
Are fish from the Pacific safe to eat? The short answer is that it depends on where they were caught, along with some other factors. People in Japan, which once accounted for 15% of fish catches worldwide, are being cautioned against eating too much locally sourced fish. The Japanese government’s affiliated Fisheries Research Agency announced in January of 2014 that a black sea bream recently studied had been contaminated with 12,400 becquerels (Bq) of radioactive cesium per kilogram, which is 124 times higher than the acceptable safety standard. Two other black sea breams in the study were found to contain 197 Bq / kilogram and 426 Bq / kilogram respectively; the limit is 100 Bq / kilogram.
Many scientists believe that Fukushima radiation is continuing to accumulate in fish caught close to the Japanese coastline, and it is now standard practice for Japanese fishermen to take radiation measurements following each catch they make. While many contaminated fish are discarded, these fish are consumed by others, causing radiation to bioaccumulate; some fishermen are opting to disregard safety levels and sell contaminated fish to local markets.
What about fish caught off the coast of North America? So far, researchers have found minor radiation levels, even in migratory tuna. This is not surprising, since radiation levels decrease exponentially as the distance from the site of the Fukushima power plant increases. When long-lived fish such as tuna absorb radiation, the radioactive elements are eventually dispelled as they spend the majority of their time in waters that are free from radiation.
Some are expressing concern that as diluted radioactive water spreads, marine species will be affected. According to Ken Buesseler, senior marine chemist and geochemist at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, “Levels of any Fukushima contaminants in the ocean will be many thousands of times lower after they mix across the Pacific and arrive on the West Coast of North America sometime in late 2013 or 2014. This is not to say that we should not be concerned about additional sources of radioactivity in the ocean above the natural sources, but at the levels expected even short distances from Japan, the Pacific will be safe for boating, swimming, etc."
For now, it seems that fish caught in Pacific waters other than those within close range of the nuclear disaster site are probably safe to eat. It’s a good idea to ascertain seafood sources before purchasing or consuming fish, not just for this reason but because it’s important to choose fish that have been sustainably harvested.