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Study Finds High Mercury Levels in Dolphin-Hunters of Taiji
The toxic heavy metal is concentrated in the food chain and can be absorbed by humans when they eat predator species such as dolphin, whose meat has been served in shops and, in the past, school lunches in Japan.
A survey of some 1,000 Taiji residents found high mercury levels in the hair of some, but found no-one who had fallen ill as a result, Koji Okamoto, the director of the National Institute for Minamata Disease, told AFP.
"Out of 1,000 people we surveyed, there were some people whose hair had high levels of methyl mercury," he said. "Then we examined some 200 people including these people. But we found no neurological cases of methyl mercury toxicity."
Detailed study results will be released in a town hall meeting in the southwestern fishing town on Sunday, he said.
Taiji hit the global spotlight with the release last year of the hard hitting eco-documentary "The Cove" on its annual dolphin hunt, which was shot in part using hidden cameras and highlighted the mercury threat.
The film, which featured graphic footage of the sea mammals being harpooned to death, angered local fishermen, who say dolphin hunting is part of their culture and who slammed the covert techniques of the film crew.
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