Photo of striped bassEating fish regularly is part of a healthy diet. However, it is important to know that mercury is sometimes present in certain fish. Mercury can be swallowed by fish and stored in their body. Your body absorbs mercury when you eat the fish. Eating fish that contain high levels of mercury can be harmful to your health.
The New Brunswick Guideline for Fish and Mercury provides information on choosing and eating fish caught in New Brunswick’s lakes and rivers. The guideline includes consumption limits for brook trout, lake trout, landlocked salmon, smallmouth bass, striped bass, brown bullhead, burbot, muskellunge, perch, and pickerel. It is recommended that you do not eat more than the “consumption limit”.
By making informed choices about what types of fish you eat and how often you eat them, the amount of mercury you get from fish can be minimized while the health benefits associated with eating fish continue to be gained.