The king mackerel population off of North Carolina's coast ranges to Florida. Based on those findings, North Carolina officials checked with South Carolina, Georgia and Florida officials. Their data was consistent with North Carolina's findings. Mercury in large, long-lived fish is an international problem. Many states have issued advisories in the past decade.
Research continues into the cause of the problem.
Because high levels have been found in fish from relatively remote areas, researchers suspect that the mercury, which comes from industrial sources like coal-burning industries, chlorine manufacturing and waste incinerators as well as natural sources, is often spread through the air and deposited in water. Mercury can also come from some mining operations. As bigger fish eat smaller fish, the bigger fish get higher levels of mercury. The longer the big fish's life span, the more likely that it will accumulate mercury. All Rights Reserved.