As I've mentioned many times before, I'm a sushi nut.

I love everything about it, starting with the hot towel that the waiter brings over and ending with chasing the last wisp of pickled ginger before setting my chopsticks down to rest. Most of all, I love the element of surprise, because of unending variety that can be found on any given plate.

Several months ago, a friend challenged me to sample [0] all kinds of fish, not just tuna, salmon and other popular choices. Since then, I've make it a point to try strange-sounding fish and weird — or, er... innovative — rolls. If I know the chef or restaurant well, I do as the Japanese do, and let the chef concoct whatever he or she desires.

Still, the truth is that tuna is invariably my staple. Sometimes, it's sliced into pink slabs of nigiri. Other times, it's one ingredient in a complicated roll. Without fail, though, I order a spicy tuna roll.

So I was pretty disturbed by an article in the New York Times [1], which reported that the tuna served at Manhattan's top sushi restaurants was ridiculously -- and dangerously -- high in mercury.

Now, like most sushi fans, I know that there are questions about whether sushi is safe [1]. I know that mercury and PCBs are a threat [1]. And like most sushi fans, I assume that I consume tuna in quantities that are too small to do any serious damage.

Turns out, I've been deluding myself. The article notes that eating six pieces of tuna a week exceeds 49 micrograms, the level that the Environmental Protection Agency considers safe for an average adult.

In fact, the levels are so high that the Food and Drug Administration may issue a ban on tuna because long-term exposure to mercury is linked to neurological disorders and an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

Now, you'd think that anyone with sense would steer clear of tuna. But after hearing that the FDA might prohibit tuna sales, I have to admit that my first impulse was to gobble up a spicy tuna roll before it becomes contraband.

I'll resist that urge and limit my intake. I'll come to grips with the ugly facts. And though it's a small consolation, I have heard that there are plenty of other fish in the sea.