Main Article Image
Digestive Health

Why are these fish dying?

Next week I am scheduled to do a lecture to about 300 doctors at the annual American Academy of Anti-Aging in Thailand (A4M). The theme of my lecture is advising how supplements including Omega 3 fish oil are made and the important points that they need to be aware of selecting supplements to supply to their patients.

The presentation will be video recorded and we will make it available for our readers on the website. It follows the entire process of our manufacturing systems. At the end of the presentation I am making reference to something that concerns all health conscious people. Why are fish dying in unprecedented numbers in the Americas?

Here is a preview of what my closing remarks will be.


A final thought to leave you with.

Ask what type of fish is used to make the oil you are about to purchase. Find out where it is harvested from. If it is from farmed salmon, ask for a lab report screening for antibiotics. Does it really matter where it is harvested from?

Some people would say no…but, I personally think that it is important…especially in the light of recent events! Why? Well, fish are dying in tens of thousands in some of the areas where most of the fish are harvested for their oil…the west coast of South America, the Gulf of Mexico and the east coast of the USA.

In the case of South America some experts believe the fish deaths (off the coast of Peru) are due to toxins coming out of the rivers in Bolivia from illegal activities upstream. These are being carried north in the Humboldt Current.

But, even more ominous are the extensive deaths of fish in the region from the Gulf and up the east coast of the US. There is considerable controversy about the cause of these deaths and I certainly don’t know the answers. If you Google ‘fish dying in New Jersey’ you will get lots of links with a wide range of people speculating on the cause of death. Here is a typical link:

Why I say ‘ominous’ is that it appears that seagulls are not to keen on eating these dead fish. That doesn’t feel right given my past experience of having owned a fishing operation in New Zealand. Seagulls gather in their thousands when there is a free feed ready for the taking.

So, what is this got to do with Omega 3 fish oil?

Simple really…what if the deaths are related to Corexit which is the oil dispersant that has been used in the Gulf? Over a million gallons has been sprayed on the oil. This dispersant is a neurotoxin that can get into the cells of animals and fish and rupture them from the inside out. It is pretty nasty stuff.

Google it and have a look for yourself. What is astounding is that this material is known to be extremely hazardous and yet no toxicity studies have even been done on it and yet a million gallons of it has been dumped into the gulf.

Is this what the fish have been dying of? I don’t know…BUT…if you subscribe to the theory ‘where there is smoke, there is fire’…then maybe.

But, even if it isn’t then I strongly believe that any oil originating from fish in this region should be screened for Corexit in case it is present. However, I doubt that will be done. If this is a factor in the deaths we may start seeing something similar happening in Europe within the next year. Have a look at where the Gulf Stream will take this Corexit:

You will see that the Gulf Stream fans out and encompasses a large area of North West Europe and Scandinavia. Enough said on this subject…other than saying personally I will stick to only consuming oil where I know the fish has come from…in our case Hoki from unpolluted waters in New Zealand and tuna from the island of Mauritius.

Leave a Comment

You may also like...

Subscribe to our Health Matters newsletter