Seafood Advisories:
Seafood Industry
Response
Bob Collette, National Fisheries Institute
Presented at
Seafood: Assessing the Benefits and
Risks
Cook College, New Brunswick, NJ
Dickens Said it Best:

“It was the best of times, it was the
worst of times…it was the epoch of
belief, it was the epoch of
incredulity…it was the spring of hope,
it was the winter of despair…in short,
the period was so far like the present
period, that some of its noisiest
authorities insisted on its being
received, for good or for evil, in the
superlative degree of comparison
only.” – A Tale of Two Cities
The Best of Times



The American Heart Association
recommends two servings of fish per week
The National Inst. Of Health NHLBI
supports dietary guidance about fish and
CVD
NHLBI’s Adult Treatment Panel supports
AHA’s recommendation that fish be part of
a heart-disease risk-reduction diet
The Epoch of Belief
FDA/EPA Fish Advisory, March 2004:
“Fish and shellfish are an important part of a
healthy diet. Fish and shellfish contain
high-quality protein and other essential
nutrients, are low in saturated fat, and
contain omega-3 fatty acids. A wellbalanced diet that includes a variety of
fish and shellfish can contribute to heart
health and children’s proper growth and
development. So, women and young
children in particular should include fish or
shellfish in their diets due to the many
nutritional benefits.”
The Epoch of Incredulity


“Absolutely, I would avoid all fish.”
“if [alcohol and tobacco] are harmful
and require labels, then so should
fish.”
“I will not introduce tuna to my kids’
diets.”
--FDA Focus Group Comments, 2003
The Spring of Hope
Current & future N-3 Benefits

Alzheimer’s

Neurodev/ADHD

Cancer

Arthritis

Premature Birth

Depression

Asthma
The Spring of Hope
Current & future N-3 Benefits

Enormous body of science showing
fish and N-3 fatty acids reduce the
risk of cardiovascular disease
The Winter of Despair

Farmed salmon higher in PCBs

300,000 babies at risk from mercury

Pregnant women advised not to eat
RTE smoked fish due to Listeria
Communications Challenges

Narrowly targeted audience v. mass
media

Complex science

Diverse agendas

Resources
Communications Challenges

Narrowly targeted audience v. mass
media
Complex Science—Putting the Risk
in Perspective

300,000 babies at risk nationwide
• Based on EPA Reference Dose (RfD) for
mercury (RfD a level of exposure over
time believed to be without risk)
• Calculates from a CDC study the
number of women in childbearing years
with blood mercury levels that exceed
the RfD and who might become
pregnant.
Risk and the Rfd



EPA/FDA: Rfd not a “bright line” between safe &
unsafe
10 X safety (uncertainty) factor
300,000 women on average about 8 X below
predicted affects level

Media interprets as over Rfd = affected

Result-- Consumers eschew all seafood in fear
MERCURY COVERAGE 2004
1400
1200
1000
800
stories
600
400
200
0
DEC
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
U.S. TUNA SALES
4-Wk periods compared to year ago
4
2
0
-2
-4
% Chg
-6
-8
-10
-12
Dec. 13
Jan. 10
Feb. 7
Mar. 6
Apr. 3
HOPE SPRINGS ETERNAL:
Industry Actions





NYT, WSJ Op-Eds
News Releases/ Website
Interviews
Partnerships
Research
• Understanding the risk
• Mitigating the risk
• Risk Comparisons
MORE TO BE DONE

Encourage gov’t to conduct targeted
education campaign
• Doctors and Health Professionals who
provide medical services and advice to
women and young children

Risk-based programs at harvest,
growing and processing points to
reduce contamination
• E.g. Farmed salmon
Conclusion



Fish is not tobacco or alcohol
Fish has know benefits to adults and
children
Government, health professionals,
media and industry must work
together to assure dissemination of
proactive effective and targeted
information to consumers