Japans commercial whaling is a threat to public health

Christian Sonne; Rune Dietz; Sophia V Hansson; Jens Søndergaard; Jean-Pierre Desforges; Aage K O Alstrup

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.099

Japans commercial whaling is a threat to public health

Sci Total Environ. 2019 Aug 25:680:10-12. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.099. Epub 2019 May 8.

Authors

Christian Sonne¹, Rune Dietz², Sophia V Hansson³, Jens Søndergaard⁴, Jean-Pierre Desforges⁵, Aage K O Alstrup⁶

Affiliations

¹ Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
³ Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁴ Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁵ Aarhus University, Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Frederiksborgvej 399, P.O. Box 358, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].
⁶ Aarhus University, Department of Nuclear Medicine and PET Center, Nørrebrogade 44, 10C, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. Electronic address: [email protected].

PMID: 31085441
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.05.099

Abstract

Japans' decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission and reinstate commercial hunting on minke, sei and Bryde's whales has recently been discussed in several journals. Here we discuss mercury exposure to the public eating baleen whales, toothed whales and tuna in relation to the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) tolerable weekly intake (TWI).

Keywords: Baleen whales; Hg; Mercury; TWI; Tolerable weekly intake; Toothed whales; Tuna fish.

MeSH terms

Animals
Cetacea / metabolism*
Dietary Exposure / analysis*
Fisheries / statistics & numerical data*
Humans
Japan
Mercury / metabolism*
Public Health
Water Pollutants, Chemical / metabolism*

Substances

Water Pollutants, Chemical
Mercury