Researchers find potentially harmful level of pollutants in edible seaweed

The plentiful seaweed off the shores of Fidalgo and other surrounding islands has concentrated contaminants, according to a study published recently by a team at Western Washington University.

It's the same seaweed that is often eaten by area tribal members and kayakers looking for a snack.

The study found up to 162 chemical contaminants in three of the species of the edible seaweeds, which are bull kelp, bladderwrack and spiral bladderwrack. Those concentrations happened at 43 sites in the Salish Sea throughout the U.S. and Canada, according to a press release from the university.