Today, I bought a swordfish steak at the Central Market. It was one of those so fresh it still has jetlag steaks. I grilled it on a lightly oiled grill after painting the steak with a thin layer of canola oil and a dusting of Dos Pendejos Oro del Mar seafood seasoning. We also prepared our favorite seafood salsa of Mango/Avocado/Red onion/Jalapeno and Cilantro with a spray of lime juice. The only side was Mac & Cheese from the store deli.
The swordfish steak looked like this:
My serving looked like:
If you are within a decade of my own age (73), you will probably remember Minamata Disease from the mid-50s. Children living around Minamata Bay in Japan developed an odd neurological illness that caused difficulties with seeing and hearing, learning, walking, and so forth. So did the family cats and some birds. The illness was caused by methylmercury poisoning. Many babies were born with severe congenital neurological defects due to the same poisoning. An industrial plant that had been dumping its effluents into the bay had poisoned all the fish and shellfish. Predators high in the food chain (sharks, swordfish, tuna) accumulated the highest concentrations of this poison. People ate this fish, and the rest is an environmental and medical tragedy.
Saltwater as well as freshwater species still accumulate methylmercury – even here in the USA. So, these species are not recommended for pregnant people or young children. At my age, a little poison plus or minus is not that big of a deal. I think of this evening’s meal as my MRSAA of methylmercury – MRSAA is a term that I made up to suggest the Maximum Recommended Semi-Annual Allowance of this particular toxin.
The meal was quite tasty, but I still lament the young lives injured by and lost to this poison.