If tuna is hatched and raised in non-mercury containing water, does that make it mercury-free?

Question

Will heavy metals travel from parent to offspring? If not, why aren’t fish that contain heavy metals hatched in places where water can be monitored?

In: Biology

Answer 1

Tuna accumulates mercury from seawater, where it’s found in trace amounts, and food (think all the water ever filtered by many smaller fish eaten). A minute amount of mercury can be there from the egg, but that’s nothing compared to how much it will store over the years of growth.