It didn’t make many headlines at the time, but delegates from 140 nations earlier this month quietly signed the first-ever global treaty to reduce mercury emissions, a move that could help make Northland fish safer to eat.
The treaty, reached in Geneva, Switzerland, after years of negotiations, is aimed at reducing human-caused mercury emissions from smokestacks, gold mining and other sources — mercury that can float around the Earth before falling in rain and snow, sometimes thousands of miles from the source.
That mercury can transform into highly toxic methylmercury in wetlands, lakes and rivers, building up in fish and then in animals that eat fish, including loons, eagles and people.
Minnesota, Wisconsin and most other states have issued fish consumption advisories, warning anglers and others to limit their meals of some fish, such as walleye and northern pike. The advisories even warn pregnant women and children not to eat larger fish at all. The warnings are aimed at preventing accumulated toxic mercury buildup known to cause developmental and neurological damage, especially in fetuses and young children.
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