WPRO Newsroom and the Associated Press
BRISTOL, R.I. (AP) – Roger Williams University has received a grant for research to measure mercury levels in a local fish that will help health officials develop guidelines for how much is safe to eat.
The $12,200 grant from the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Foundation will fund the research of David Taylor, an associate professor of biology. He and a marine biology student from New York will analyze mercury levels in scup over the next year, including from samples taken from Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound and Block Island Sound.
Taylor anticipates the scup will measure low in mercury levels. But if the findings reveal a change in risk, the Department of Health will use the findings to update scup consumption guidelines.
Scup account for 23 percent of the state's total recreational catch.
