Mercury levels in yellowfin tuna have been increasing steadily since 1998

The tuna we're eating is becoming more mercury-laden every year, and it's most likely our own fault.

That's according to new research out of the University of Michigan, which found that mercury levels in yellowfin tuna caught in the Pacific Ocean have increased nearly four percent every year since 1998.

For seafood lovers, warnings of high mercury concentrations in fish are not new. But the study, published Monday in the journal Environmental Toxicology, shows that levels of the toxic metal aren't declining — in fact, they're only getting worse.

"Our analysis suggests that mercury in fish is increasing at the same rate as the increase in mercury loading to the North Pacific Ocean," said Paul Drevnick, an assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan and a co-author of the study. Read more...

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