Dr. Kolbye: 



The guideline is for total mercury. Methylmercury 

 is the dangerous form, but much needs to be learned 

 about the toxicity of all forms of mercury found in 

 fish. It would be of interest to determine the exact 

 chemical form of the nonmethylmercury part found in 

 marlin. 



Fred Rice (Kailua-Kona, Hawaii): 



Regarding the University of Hawaii study — was 

 mercury added to the feed of the swine? If the swine 

 were fed marlin without the added mercury part, 

 would there be any effects? 



Dr. Marland: 



Yes, mercury was added. No, they showed no effects 

 if mercury wasn't added; however, controlled ex- 

 periments are needed. It is not a question of just 

 feeding marlin containing mercury without ex- 

 perimental controls. 



Mr. Rice: 



Is there any information available on what is being 

 done with the marlin being caught? My guess is that 

 probably 90 c "c is being consumed by humans. Does the 

 FDA have authority to intercede in cases where the 

 fish is caught in Hawaiian waters and consumed in 

 Hawaii? 



Dr. Marland: 



We don't know the disposition of the marlin caught. 

 The guideline is a responsibility of the Director of 

 Health for the State of Hawaii. 



Question: 



Has the economic impact of setting the guideline 

 been considered? 



Dr. Kolbye: 



With the public health at stake it is necessary to act 

 quickly. Severe cases in Japan showing diffuse brain 

 damage give good cause for such a guideline. 



Richard E. Young (University of Hawaii): 



Would you comment on the case of the woman in 

 New York who suffered mercury poisoning? 



Dr. Kolbye: 



Apparently this woman consumed swordfish daily, 

 however, this cannot be fully documented. 



Captain Parker: 



Sweden made a mistake in calculating their 

 guideline. Has anything been done to change it? 



Dr. Kolbye: 



They have not changed their guideline. Sweden has 

 taken the following steps: (a) they close certain 

 streams, (b) they advise that no more than one meal 

 per week of fish from certain areas be eaten, and (c) 

 they advise pregnant women not to eat certain fish. 



Captain Parker: 



How much trouble would it be to take samples of 

 the dorsal muscle and determine the mercury level? 



Mr. Beckett: 



It would be extremely expensive — about $1,000 per 

 sample. 



Ms. Shultz: 



The amount of money is not the problem— time 

 is — it requires 45 h to process each sample. 



Captain Parker: 



Is it true that broadbill swordfish landed in Califor- 

 nia are sampled for mercury and can be sold if found 

 safe? What is the form of the FDA ban? 



Dr. Kolbye: 



Regarding swordfish in California, as far as I know, 

 they are being handled as you have noted. The tuna 

 and other industry people are cooperating in conduct- 

 ing such monitoring programs. It may be possible to 

 do this for marlin; however, it must be done by an 

 accepted laboratory to assure that it is done correctly. 



Captain Parker: 



What did the general public hear with respect to 

 marlin in Hawaii? Are we breaking the law if we give 

 away fish? 



Dr. Marland: 



The Director of Health in Hawaii publicized the 

 fact that the marlin contain unsafe levels of mercury, 

 and received a voluntary withdrawal of billfish from 

 the market. If fish are given away it breaks the 

 gentlemen's agreement. If the fish are not fit for 

 human consumption, they should not be given away 

 or eaten under any circumstances. 



Peter S. Fithian (Honolulu): 



Throwing away fish is a philosophical problem. We 

 have run out of time. Thank you all for attending and 

 contributing to this most worthwhile discussion. 



Special Session: Sportsmen — Scientists 



Symposium Summary (Frank J. Hester, 



USA).— Dr. Hester provided the sportsmen-scientist 

 gathering with a summary of the results presented at 

 the scientific sessions and the special session covering 

 mercury in billfishes. His presentation was made with 

 the aid of a number of slides which were used by the 

 various speakers. Since Sections 5 and 6 include sum- 

 maries of the sessions, and the full text of the papers is 

 given in Part 2, only Dr. Hester's closing statement 

 will be included here. It follows: 



I would like to make some general comments. 

 Billfishes, because of their size and scarcity, are very 

 difficult animals with which to work. It is very dif- 

 ficult to find fresh material and even more difficult to 

 find living material. These are probably the main 

 reasons why today the state of knowledge of billfish 



