Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice
Humans are exposed to toxic methylmercury mainly by consuming marine fish, in particular top predator species like billfishes or tunas. In seafood risk assessments, mercury is assumed to be mostly present as organic methylmercury in predatory fishes; yet high percentages of inorganic mercury were re...
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Elsevier
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Environment International |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000030 |
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| author | Anaïs Médieu David Point Valérie Allain Nathalie Bodin Mélanie Lemire Pierre Ayotte Zahirah Dhurmeea Matthieu Waeles Laure Laffont Antoine Le Gohalen François Roupsard Anne Lorrain |
| author_facet | Anaïs Médieu David Point Valérie Allain Nathalie Bodin Mélanie Lemire Pierre Ayotte Zahirah Dhurmeea Matthieu Waeles Laure Laffont Antoine Le Gohalen François Roupsard Anne Lorrain |
| author_sort | Anaïs Médieu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Humans are exposed to toxic methylmercury mainly by consuming marine fish, in particular top predator species like billfishes or tunas. In seafood risk assessments, mercury is assumed to be mostly present as organic methylmercury in predatory fishes; yet high percentages of inorganic mercury were recently reported in marlins, suggesting markedly different methylmercury metabolism across species. We quantified total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in muscle of four billfish species from the Indian and the Pacific oceans to address this knowledge gap. We found low percentages of methylmercury in blue and black marlins (15 ± 7 %) compared to swordfish and striped marlin (89 ± 13 %), with no significant differences among ocean regions. This illustrates that billfishes exhibit species-specific methylmercury bioaccumulation patterns, likely related to unique selenium-dependent in vivo methylmercury demethylation capacities in muscle. Blue and black marlins therefore appeared generally safer for human consumption than swordfish and striped marlin regarding MeHg toxicological effects. Yet, no matter the species, the frequency of recommended weekly billfish meals decreased with increasing fish size, given that mercury naturally accumulates over time. When assessing potential risks of billfish consumption, we therefore recommend measuring methylmercury, rather than total mercury, and relying on a large number of samples to cover a broad range of fish sizes. This study calls for additional characterization of mercury speciation and bioavailability in billfishes to better understand the mechanisms driving species-specific differences of methylmercury detoxification, and to refine dietary advices associated to marine top predators consumption. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-67a9f558e6474e6485aedc30887efed7 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 0160-4120 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Environment International |
| spelling | doaj-art-67a9f558e6474e6485aedc30887efed72025-01-24T04:44:14ZengElsevierEnvironment International0160-41202025-01-01195109252Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary adviceAnaïs Médieu0David Point1Valérie Allain2Nathalie Bodin3Mélanie Lemire4Pierre Ayotte5Zahirah Dhurmeea6Matthieu Waeles7Laure Laffont8Antoine Le Gohalen9François Roupsard10Anne Lorrain11IRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, France; Corresponding author.Géosciences Environnement Toulouse, UMR CNRS 5563/IRD 234, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse 3, Toulouse, FrancePacific Community, Oceanic Fisheries Programme, Noumea, New-CaledoniaSustainable Ocean Seychelles (SOS), BeauBelle, Mahé, Seychelles; Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, SeychellesAxe santé des populations et pratiques optimales en santé, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Département de médecine sociale et préventive, Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Institut de biologie intégrative et des systèmes (IBIS), Université Laval, Québec, CanadaSeychelles Fishing Authority (SFA), Fishing Port, Victoria, Mahé, Seychelles; Axe santé des populations et pratiques optimales en santé, Centre de recherche du CHU de Québec-Université Laval, Québec, Canada; Centre de Toxicologie du Québec, Institut National de Santé Publique du Québec, CanadaIRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, FranceIRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, FranceGéosciences Environnement Toulouse, UMR CNRS 5563/IRD 234, Université Paul Sabatier Toulouse 3, Toulouse, FranceIRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, FrancePacific Community, Oceanic Fisheries Programme, Noumea, New-CaledoniaIRD, Univ Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, LEMAR, IUEM, F-29280 Plouzané, FranceHumans are exposed to toxic methylmercury mainly by consuming marine fish, in particular top predator species like billfishes or tunas. In seafood risk assessments, mercury is assumed to be mostly present as organic methylmercury in predatory fishes; yet high percentages of inorganic mercury were recently reported in marlins, suggesting markedly different methylmercury metabolism across species. We quantified total mercury and methylmercury concentrations in muscle of four billfish species from the Indian and the Pacific oceans to address this knowledge gap. We found low percentages of methylmercury in blue and black marlins (15 ± 7 %) compared to swordfish and striped marlin (89 ± 13 %), with no significant differences among ocean regions. This illustrates that billfishes exhibit species-specific methylmercury bioaccumulation patterns, likely related to unique selenium-dependent in vivo methylmercury demethylation capacities in muscle. Blue and black marlins therefore appeared generally safer for human consumption than swordfish and striped marlin regarding MeHg toxicological effects. Yet, no matter the species, the frequency of recommended weekly billfish meals decreased with increasing fish size, given that mercury naturally accumulates over time. When assessing potential risks of billfish consumption, we therefore recommend measuring methylmercury, rather than total mercury, and relying on a large number of samples to cover a broad range of fish sizes. This study calls for additional characterization of mercury speciation and bioavailability in billfishes to better understand the mechanisms driving species-specific differences of methylmercury detoxification, and to refine dietary advices associated to marine top predators consumption.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000030MarlinsSwordfishMethylmercury percentageSeleniumFish consumption recommendationswestern Indian Ocean |
| spellingShingle | Anaïs Médieu David Point Valérie Allain Nathalie Bodin Mélanie Lemire Pierre Ayotte Zahirah Dhurmeea Matthieu Waeles Laure Laffont Antoine Le Gohalen François Roupsard Anne Lorrain Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice Environment International Marlins Swordfish Methylmercury percentage Selenium Fish consumption recommendations western Indian Ocean |
| title | Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| title_full | Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| title_fullStr | Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| title_full_unstemmed | Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| title_short | Species-specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| title_sort | species specific mercury speciation in billfishes and its implications for food safety monitoring and dietary advice |
| topic | Marlins Swordfish Methylmercury percentage Selenium Fish consumption recommendations western Indian Ocean |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0160412025000030 |
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