Researcher eyes seafood consumption on LI

Ongoing pollution in waterways worldwide has inspired a new investigation into seafood consumption, and a Long Island researcher is calling on the public to help him find answers.

Jaymie Meliker, an assistant professor of public health at Stony Brook University, is asking adults who regularly consume seafood to participate in a yearlong study focused on Long Island.

"We're trying to assess the risks and benefits of eating certain types of seafood," Meliker said Thursday. "We know that fish is a good source of protein and is low in fat, and that it replaces protein sources that tend to be high in fat. But we also have a lot of questions."

The researcher wants to recruit 300 study participants. They'll be asked to complete questionnaires and submit to periodic blood tests.

The New York State Department of Health recently published its health advice on eating sport fish in a report that highlights key pollutants in state waterways.

For seafood caught in the waters off Long Island Sound, Block Island Sound, Peconic/Gardiners Bays and the South Shore, the state warns that cadmium, dioxins and PCBs are the chemicals of concern.

Meliker said he's also interested in the potential health effects of mercury and its byproducts.The study will not attempt to track where the fish being consumed came from.

Fish has increasingly become a dietary staple because of health claims highlighted in major studies. Seven years ago, the Food and Drug Administration trained a spotlight on omega-3 fatty acids, which may help thwart cardiovascular disease.

Dr. Robert Glatter, a fisherman and a physician at Lenox Hill Hospital in Manhattan, said people should not abandon eating fish, but should choose species less likely to contain toxins, such as salmon and flounder.

"Eating a serving of fish once a week really isn't a concern," he said, but he cited walleye, bluegill, crappie and swordfish as varieties often high in pollutants.Meliker noted that toxins tend to concentrate in the filet -- "the part of the fish we eat."

He said his research grows out of a recent finding from New York City's health department: Nearly 25 percent of the city's adults, and nearly half of Asian residents, are estimated to have blood-mercury levels exceeding those recommended for pregnant women.

People interested in participating in the study are asked to take this screening questionnaire: https://redcap.gcrc.sunysb.edu/surveys/index.php?s=RJ2h3K.