In a letter sent to FDA Commissioner Mark McClellan on Thursday, US albacore tuna fishermen demanded that the FDA immediately implement a formal program to systematically test hundreds of albacore fishing community members, including women and children, for any effects caused by methylmercury.
The request comes in the wake of a new draft FDA advisory that warns pregnant women, nursing mothers, and young children about mercury content in albacore tuna. "Our members and their physicians are particularly mystified by these developments since fishermen and their children seem to be very healthy 'despite' regularly consuming unusually large quantities of albacore tuna," said Wayne Heikkila, Executive Director of the Western Fishboat Owners Association.
The letter points out that most albacore fishing families consume albacore several times a week throughout the year and even more during the fishing season, which is a rate far higher than the national average. Many WFOA members are also second and third generation fishermen who ate large quantities of albacore as young children, and were born to mothers who regularly ate large quantities of albacore tuna during pregnancy and while nursing.
"For decades we have proudly supplied top-quality, protein-packed, Omega-3 rich albacore to the public," says WFOA President Lewis Hill. "This new draft warning and talk about 'risks' flies in the face of what we know to be true: our families eat more albacore than any other segment of the population, and as a group we are very healthy."
Hill went on to say he believes it would be very appropriate for the government to implement a formal study immediately. "The FDA now has the opportunity to move beyond theoretical risk assessments to document actual impacts on human health. The US albacore fishing community includes a large pool of willing volunteers, and we await their reply."
A copy of the letter to the FDA is available on the WFOA website at http://www.wfoa-tuna.org.
