Catching Quicksilver

Test results from hair samples taken at last year's Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo showed elevated levels of mercury in contestants -- especially in those anglers who said they regularly eat larger, longer-lived predators such as grouper, king mackerel and cobia, which tend to accumulate considerable concentrations of mercury in their flesh. Tests were administered by the ocean advocacy group Oceana, which in 2005 tested fish from the Rodeo, rather than the anglers themselves, for mercury contamination. To learn more about mercury, seafood and assessing the risks, see the Sierra Club's mercury pages, where you can get a wallet-sized Mercury Survival Guide or order a test kit to determine your own mercury levels.