Most Active Stories On Air Staff and WPM Interns Tue May 29,
2012 Nuclear Tuna Is Hot News, But Not Because It's Going To
Make You Sick Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 3:17 am
What snarky headline writer could resist a story about "hot
tuna?" Or how about "tuna meltdown?" Really, it seems just plain
daffy to ignore a new study that says some Pacific bluefin tuna
picked up traces of radioactive material from the Fukushima
nuclear disaster last year and brought it across the Pacific
Ocean. And while, as a rule, we avoid making light of nuclear
disasters, the tuna story is actually just plain curious, rather
than threatening, once you understand the context. You see,
Pacific bluefin tuna spawn off the coast of Japan. They are
superb swimmers, so in a few months time, they make it across
the Pacific to the coast of Mexico and Southern California to
feed — and then get caught. They are also delicious, pricey and
on the verge of population collapse, according to Monterey Bay
Aquarium Seafood Watch. Last su