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For further information about the safety of locally caught fish and shellfish, visit the Environmental
Protection Agency's Fish Advisory website www.epa.gov/ost/fish
or contact your State or Local Health Department. A list of state or local health department contacts
is available at www.epa.gov/ost/fish. Click on Federal, State,
and Tribal Contacts. For information on EPA's actions to control mercury, visit EPA's mercury website at
www.epa.gov/mercury.
This document is available on the web at http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/admehg3.html.
Calif. AG Disputes FDA on Tuna Warning
California sued America's three largest canned tuna companies last year, requiring them to comply with Proposition 65, the state's 1986 law that requires businesses to provide "clear and reasonable" warnings if consumers are exposed to known reproductive toxins, such as mercury. The state wants them to put warnings on the labels of their cans. The Food and Drug Administration has recently issued a letter saying that such warnings "frustrate the carefully considered federal approach to advising consumers of both the benefits and possible risks of eating fish and shellfish". The state says that consumers are much more likely to see the label on a can that FDA advisories, and it is suspicious of the timing of the letter, with the trial date set for Oct. 19. The executive director of the U.S. Tuna Foundation said, "Tuna should be treated as an important source of nutrition and an important food source for the low-income community, not a political football."
Other stories
U.N. Agency Findings Back Up Iran Claim
The International Atomic Energy Agency has concluded that the traces of highly enriched uranium found on centrifuge parts came from imported equipment, and not from Iranian enrichment activities. The parts came from Pakistan on the nuclear black market.
WHO: Dirty Air a Regular Killer in Asia
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that air pollution in major Southeast Asian and Chinese cities kills about half a million people a year. About 800,000 die each year world wide. One cause is the smoke haze from Indonesian fires that has been causing serious smog recently. Pollution from traffic, industry and domestic fires are also to blame, and are all-year factors.
Mexican environmentalists rethinking sexy posters
Mexican environmentalists are having second thoughts about using sexy posters to dispel the belief that sea turtle eggs are an aphrodisiac after complaints that such poster are degrading to women.
Nevada Kitty Survives Jolt, Fire, Fall
A cat that climbed to where a bird's nest was at the top of a power pole was electrocuted and burnt and fell 40 feet to the ground. He survived the fall, however, and although singed all over, the burns were superficial. Firefighters who came to put out the resultant fire gave him oxygen. He should make a full recovery.
Woman Helps Ill Duck, but State Seizes It
A woman who nursed an injured mallard duckling from when it was just a day old 11 weeks ago was stunned and upset when two state Fish and Wildlife agents came and seized it. She has filed a complaint against the rough handling.
Parasite Preying on Shrimp in Oregon
A non-native parasite, Griffen's isopod, is preying on mud shrimp in Oregon Coast estuaries and Willapa Bay in Washington. The mud shrimp are not only used as fish bait by humans, but are also food for birds, fish and other animals. Te parasite devastates the mud shrimp's reproductive system. Known only in Japan, the parasite likely arrived in ship's ballast water.
Ship Zones Recommended to Help Whales
Canada has altered shipping lanes in the Bay of Fundy which has helped the endangered North Atlantic right whale population, which has more calves than usual this year. The USA has not made any changes, and an above average number of whales are being killed in collisions with ships. The U.S. government is considering ocean speed limits and shipping lane changes.
Gray Wolf
Photo courtesy of EPA
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Judge Orders Northeast Wolf Restoration
A federal judge has ordered the Bush administration to make further efforts to restore the gray wolf to four northeastern states, saying that the Department of the Interior violated federal law in 2003 when it said this was not needed.
Cloned Tabby Wildcats Have Kittens
A cloned African wildcat has fathered 2 families with clones of an unrelated member of the species. It is hoped that the technique will help save endangered species.
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