(19) Mercury in Carribean Dolphins Caught for Human Consumption: Results from a Summer Study and Implications for Conservation

     The Caribbean island of St. Vincent supports an ongoing, legal cetacean take, targeting several whale and dolphin species for human consumption. Little is known regarding the healthfulness and potential health risks... [ view full abstract ]

     The Caribbean island of St. Vincent supports an ongoing, legal cetacean take, targeting several whale and dolphin species for human consumption. Little is known regarding the healthfulness and potential health risks of these foods in this setting, nor is the impact of the take on resident and migratory cetacean stocks well understood. This operation does, however, allow researchers almost-unmatched, consistent access to carcasses of healthy cetaceans taken regularly from the wild as opposed to the more common source of tissue procurement: intermittent strandings. In 2014, using material collected through this whaling operation over the course of a month, we analyzed 78 muscle and blubber samples from two cetacean species for both total mercury and methylmercury. We followed this pilot study with a yearlong tissue sample collection program, which yielded 133 samples of muscle, blubber, liver, and kidney from five cetacean species. Here, we report the results of the pilot study—which show high concentrations of both forms of mercury in these tissues as compared to published data for other seafood products—as well as the preliminary results, future plans for measuring the concentrations of other environmental contaminants, and projected implications of the larger study. Our findings highlight the potential for negative human health effects related to the consumption of these cetacean-based food products in St. Vincent and also raise questions related to the interactions among human health, subsistence, and cetacean conservation.