Trends in mercury concentrations in New York State fish.
Atmospheric emissions of mercury in the US are being reduced, but worldwide mercury emissions remain high. Mercury is also being removed from many consumer items. Changes over time in mercury concentrations in fish remain important to resource managers and the general public. There is hope that mercury concentrations in fish will decline, and the number of fish consumption advisories due to mercury will decrease. We compared mercury concentrations in yellow perch (Perca flavescens) from a group of Adirondack lakes with data collected 12-17 years earlier and found variable responses among lakes. We observed an average decline of 14% in yellow perch mercury concentrations over the past 15 years.
Simonin
Howard A
HA
Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, 8314 Fish Hatchery Road, Rome, NY 13440, USA. hasimoni@gw.dec.state.ny.us
Loukmas
Jefferey J
JJ
Skinner
Lawrence C
LC
Roy
Karen M
KM
Paul
Eric A
EA