Results from the shellfish meat and first 20 salmon samples collected in 2016 reveal an absence of Fukushima radiation. Shellfish from four species were collected from many of British Columbia’s major shellfish aquaculture regions from Prince Rupert to the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. These results are from just the meat of the shellfish and additional analysis of the crushed shell is currently ongoing. The four types of molluscs (Pacific Scallop (Patinopecten yessoensis), Pacific Oyster (Crassostrea gigas), Northern Blue Mussel (Mytilus edulis and a hybrid with M. galloprovincalis), and Manila Clam (Venerupis philippinarum)) were chosen for analysis because previous work in other tropical species has shown that bivalves bioaccumulate cesium at rates faster than many other organisms. This work on tropical species did find that much of the cesium contamination was located in the shell so we await the results of the ongoing shell analyses. The absence of contamination in the edible meat from any of the species is reassurance to the $25 million aquaculture industry of BC that their product is safe to send to market and safe for human consumption. Continue reading Results from 2016 InFORM Biotic Monitoring – Shellfish and Vancouver Island Salmon →