The ecosystems around Japan are definitely messed up. Back in November 2013, a fish was caught and tested at 12,400 becquerels per kilogram. Eating that fish would be someone's final meal. How many thousands of fish are swimming the Pacific with lethal levels of radiation? How many will die from eating contaminated fish that go untested and unscreened? We can only guess.

The 1.6 and 2.6 Bq being found in samples from off the West coast seem like nothing. But most folks believe it will just keep climbing over time.

The clampdown on almost all data out of Japan is no accident. Lawsuits can best be avoided by the total media blackout.

I don't think TEPCO or the Japanese government has done an adequate job. I think the Russian response to Chernobyl was more decisive and dedicated.

The FDA isn't radiation screening US harvested fish only fish imported from Japan:

"What about fish that swim from the reactor site into U.S. fishing waters?

Japan to U.S. waters would take several days under the best of circumstances. Vessels fishing in waters far off U.S. shores must also travel several days to return to port. It is unlikely that a fish exposed to significant levels of radionuclides near the reactor could travel to U.S. waters and be caught and harvested. If this improbable trip did occur, the level of short-lived radionuclides such as I-131 would drop significantly through natural radioactive decay during the time needed to make the journey. At this time, Japanese tests have detected longer-lived radionuclides such as Cs-137 in only a few samples and at levels below FDA DILs. FDA’s testing of fish imported from Japan has not detected the presence of Cs-137.

In the unlikely scenario that pollutants could affect fish that have traveled to the U.S., FDA will work with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)to test seafood caught in those areas. Together FDA and NOAA will also inspect facilities that process and sell seafood from those areas."

So at this moment, and for the past four years you could buy a can of Chicken of the Sea or Starkist Tuna and no one has screened it for excess radiation. That's INSANE.

Tuna do migrate from Japan to the US and other fish do too. I understand the desire to protect the fishing industry, but, at best, it's reckless. I wouldn't want my kid to be the one that gets thyroid cancer and no doctor "knows" why or how it could happen.

It's the Ford Pinto all over again. Redesigning the car not to blow up would be more expensive than the lawsuits settled from those who die in the crashes. Maybe 1000 people die from radiation induced cancer from consuming contaminated fish? And how many hospitals will report or screen for it? They just don't care. It's not worth the time or money to screen all the fish being caught.

That's why Chinese drivers back up their cars after they hit someone - to make sure they are dead. It's cheaper to pay a wrongful death claim than a lifetime of payments to someone injured.

Not exactly the high moral threshold I would like to see our scientific community or government maintain.

But that's the level of morality we've got.