NFI Microsite Aims to Dispel Seafood Myths

The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) has launched a microsite as a corrective to what it calls “dangerous misinformation about seafood and mercury.” The site, The Truth About Fish and Mercury, will feature authoritative, science-based information.

“A space dedicated to debunking mercury myths is desperately needed because for years, activists have willfully fed an often lazy, unsuspecting and sympathetic media groundless warnings about eating fish,” explained Mary Anne Hansan, VP of Washington, D.C.-based NFI. “Americans already aren’t eating enough seafood to protect their health, resulting in tens of thousands of preventable deaths each year. Activists are literally scaring Americans to death.”

Among the facts noted on the site:

• A recent Harvard study found low seafood consumption to be the second-biggest dietary contributor to preventable deaths in the United States, resulting in the annual loss of 84,000 lives -- a toll greater than that of diabetes.
• The American diet offers the second-lowest percentage of fish in the world -- 15 pounds, or under one seafood meal a week.
• Children whose mothers consume no fish are 29 percent more likely to have abnormally low IQs, according to research from the Nutritional Neuroscience division at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

“Anyone who warns against eating fish is ignoring the significant body of peer-reviewed, nutrition science that shows a seafood-rich diet is not only safe, but extremely healthful,” noted NFI’s Jennifer McGuire, MS, RD. “People hear so much about what not to eat, and dragging fish into that fear-mongering comes at a cost.”

According to NFI, the microsite will draw attention to activists’ “risk-centric approach,” correct media errors, and present the latest research on seafood’s benefit-risk balance.