** PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH ALL YOUR JAPANESE FRIENDS OR ON JAPANESE SITES... THANK YOU !!!! ** New press release today from EIA, in conjunction with Animal Welfare, Campaign Whale, Elsa Nature Conservancy (Japan), OceanCare, ProWildlife and the Society for the Conservation of Marine Mammals ... Mercury treaty to flag threats of toxic whale & dolphin meat LONDON: As the world’s first legally binding international treaty to curb the release of mercury into the environment was formally signed today (October 9), a coalition of NGOs urged countries to take immediate steps to address communities at particular risk of contamination from the consumption of whale and dolphin products. “For far too long, coastal communities around the world have been allowed to consume the mercury-contaminated meat of whales, dolphins and porpoises, many in ignorance of the risks involved,” said Clare Perry, Senior Campaigner at the UK-and US-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). “Now signatories to the new treaty must make communities in places as far afield as Japan and the Faroe Islands properly aware of the very serious risks to human health that come from eating the meat of toothed cetaceans.” The Minamata Convention on Mercury was today adopted at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries in Minamata and Kumamoto, Japan. The choice of venue is significant as Minamata was the scene of the world’s worst-ever incident of mass mercury poisoning. The outbreak began in 1956 after methylmercury, discharged into the sea from a Chisso Corporation factory, accumulated in fish and shellfish and found its way into the human food chain. Symptoms of mercury poisoning can include loss of muscular coordination, numbness in extremities, damage to hearing and speech, damage to foetal development, paralysis and death. Dolphin meat sold for consumption in Japan has been found to have mercury levels as high as 98.9 parts per million, some 250 times higher than the Government regulatory level and higher than levels commonly found in the fish that caused Minamata disease. Read the full release at eia-international.org/mercury-treaty-to-flag-threats-of-toxic-whale-dolphin-meat Image: Whale meat on sale in Japan (c) EIA door: Environmental Investigation Agency
Posted on: Wed, 09 Oct 2013 08:59:11 +0000