Slug

Lately Mercury has become a problem in the great salt lake, where a lot of our brine shrimp comes from. This could be a problem to some fish, i would think if they are fed the shrimp from the lake. Any ideas/comments about this?

Just something to think about before tossing in the brine shrimp! Not sure what exactly mercury could do to a fish, but it can't be good.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26096544/

Shawnie

O my!! im going to watch this thread develop! do you think thats for the frozen as well as fresh?

Slug

Not sure. I was hoping someone else could shed more light on it. I caught wind of it on another forum. And at least to me, its a valid scare.

The article says mercury hasn't really made the birds sick, but it does give them neurological damage and keeps them from fighting disease. And we know mercury is toxic for humans, so it can't be good for fish. If it can be passed on to the birds from what they feed on, then whats to say fish can't get it from eating these brine shrimp from the lake infected with mercury.

Hopefully someone that knows more will shed some light.

Ghostfish

Well I know fish absorb a lot of mercury. I read up on the subject when my wife was pregnant. She could only eat certain types of fish that do not naturally contain much mercury. I know it is mostly saltwater fish that have high mercury levels. Swordfish is the worst.

Are most frozen brine shrimp caught? or are they grown in hatcheries? I would have thought most of them are grown in hatcheries which should have low to no level of mercury.

Slug

From what i understand there are 2 main strains for foods we use in the US, as well as main collecting areas, San Francisco and Great Salt Lake. I know Ocean Nutrition uses some GSL brine. Not sure about the other companies.