BLUE HILL --– On Friday, August 22, as part of the Marine Environmental Research Institute’s Elisabeth Mann Borgese Lecture Series, Dr. Miriam Jacobs of the Royal Veterinary College in London will present a lecture on toxic pollutants in farmed salmon and feed. Dr. Jacobs’ lecture, entitled “Food Safety, the Salmon Aquaculture Food Chain, and Bioaccumulation of Pollutants”, will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the MERI Center for Marine Studies on Main Street in Blue Hill. An open house reception for the speaker will follow the presentation. The public is invited to attend; please call in advance to reserve seating.

“We are honored to have Dr. Miriam Jacobs here to share her findings on the crucial issue of pollutants in farmed salmon. Her research and expertise in the field will provide invaluable insight as we grapple with the potential impacts of commercial fish farming in Blue Hill Bay, Penobscot Bay, and downeast Maine waters,” says Dr. Susan D. Shaw, Director and Founder of MERI. “Dr. Jacobs’ research findings are particularly important given the recent findings featured in a New York Times article last week of PCB levels in farmed salmon that exceed US EPA guidelines for health risks in humans”.

Dr. Jacobs is a multidisciplinary scientist working in the public interest. Four years ago, in collaboration with the scientists from the U.S. and Europe, she instigated independent, peer-reviewed studies of pollutants in farmed salmon and the salmon aquaculture food chain. The findings from these and later studies indicated that levels of persistent organic pollutants (PCBs, dioxins, and chlorinated pesticides) in farmed salmon from Europe could put high volume consumers above tolerable daily intake levels, putting their health at risk. The recent study by the Environmental Working Group of farmed salmon sold in the United States showed that, on average, farmed salmon have 16 times the cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in wild salmon.

Miriam Jacobs’ background is in social anthropology, nutritional therapy, public health and nutrition, analytical and molecular toxicology, and risk assessment for endocrine disrupting chemicals. She lectures on Food Safety and Toxicology at graduate and post graduate levels (University of Surrey, University of London, and Cambridge University). She has authored numerous scientific papers and abstracts, and recently edited the book Silent Invaders: Pesticides, Livelihoods and Women’s Health. Dr. Jacobs sits on an expert working group in the UK on Endocrine Disruptors, and has recently been nominated for the UK Government Advisory Committee on Pesticides.

MERI, a non-profit organization founded in 1990 to protect the health of the marine environment through research and education, sponsors the Elisabeth Mann Borgese Lecture Series featuring international scientists addressing critical ocean issues. Please call in advance to reserve seating. For information on MERI’s most recent research, or to learn about the programs it offers through its Center for Marine Studies, call 207-374-2135, Email: meri@downeast.net, or visit MERI online at www.meriresearch.org.

British scientist Miriam Jacobs, Ph.D. will speak at MERI on toxic pollutants in farmed salmon.