In 1999 the Gulf of Mexico Program conducted a study on the occurrence of mercury in the fishery resources of the Gulf of Mexico. The final report serves as a regional resource for all natural resource and public health managers in the Gulf of Mexico region, generally characterizing the mercury issue, and the methodologies and results of all regional monitoring and management efforts.

The report is organized into four major sections that address the following questions:

1. What fish and shellfish species are regularly harvested both recreationally and commercially, from the Gulf of Mexico?
2. What is the extent of coastal and marine species tissue monitoring in the Gulf of Mexico, and what concentrations of mercury, on a Gulfwide basis, are found in these fish and shellfish?
3. What species and waterbodies have the Gulf States recognized as potential human health risks, through the issuance of consumption advisories for mercury?
4. Where are the Gulf States mercury-related water quality restoration priorities, as recognized through the 303(d) listing process?

The Final Report is available online. It includes full-color Mercury Occurrence Maps for 24 species of fish and shellfish.

Interactive Data Mapper

The Gulf of Mexico Program acquired tissue monitoring datasets from Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas State monitoring programs; USEPA EMAP; the NOAA Mussel Watch Program; and the NMFS GulfChem Study. These datasets have been aggregated into a regional database, the Gulfwide Mercury in Tissue Database. The Data Mapper allows you to query this database, produce GIS-based maps of your query results, and zoom in to specific estuaries.

This study does not evaluate, nor make any conclusions about, mercury-associated human health risks from the consumption of fish and shellfish harvested from the Gulf of Mexico. The public health significance of mercury in seafood is dictated by the toxicity of mercury in a particular seafood, the level and frequency of exposure for the individuals consuming the seafood, and the level of risk that regulatory entities, representing society at large, are willing to accept (Fortner et al. 1997). Knowledge of the mercury concentrations present in fish and shellfish, the primary focus of this report, constitute but one part of the required public health risk assessment process. Access the following web sites to find more information about mercury-associated human health risks from the consumption of fish and shellfish: