Mullet: a low-mercury fish that science has mostly studied as "fish"

The strongest study on this page tested fish in general, and mullet was never singled out. A meta-analysis of 7 studies in 1,074 children aged 2 to 14, six of them randomized, found that fish meals raised blood vitamin D by 4.08 nmol/L (95% CI 1.73 to 6.43), a modest gain. What is known about mullet itself comes mostly from food tables. Per 100 g raw, the USDA lists striped mullet at 19.35 g of protein and 36.5 micrograms of selenium, and the UK table puts gray mullet at 19.8 g and 51 micrograms, from different species and laboratories with no spread across samples. Mullet averaged 0.050 ppm of mercury across 20 FDA samples collected up to 2008, one of the lowest figures the agency has, and FDA and EPA put it on their Best Choices list. In a randomized open-label trial in adults with high blood lipids in Iran (106 randomized, 95 analyzed), eating fresh fish twice a week for 8 weeks lowered LDL by 22.75 mg/dL while omega-3 capsules raised it by 18.7 mg/dL. The fish in that trial was trout.

The numbers, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

As people eat it, per 3.5 oz (100 g)

How much is actually in it

• Raw striped mullet gives about 19 g of protein and 37 to 51 ug of selenium per 3.5 oz (100 g), and the UK and US tables disagree on niacin by about a third. — USDA SR Legacy Fish, mullet, striped, raw (FDC 175123); CoFID 2021 Mullet, Grey, flesh only, raw (16-095) and Red (16-098) (n = 3 records) Evidence E source
  Protein 19.35 g (USDA) vs 19.8 g (CoFID gray); selenium 36.5 vs 51 ug; niacin 5.2 vs 3.8 mg; fat 4.0 g (CoFID gray)

What a real portion looks like

• In US dietary surveys one mullet fillet is counted as 140 g and a whole fish as 420 g. — FNDDS food code 26123110 Fish, mullet Evidence E source
  1 fillet 140 g; 1 whole fish 420 g; 1 cup 135 g; 1 oz cooked yield 20 g

What your body absorbs

• In one non-randomized Norwegian trial, cooked salmon raised serum EPA by 129% on 1.2 g of EPA and DHA a day, more than cod liver oil did on 3.0 g. — Volunteers eating 14 oz (400 g) fish per week or cod liver oil for 8 weeks, Norway (n = 71) Evidence C source
  EPA +129% and DHA +45% (cooked salmon) vs +106% and +25% (cod liver oil)

What cooking and storage change

• Grilling gray mullet concentrates it rather than stripping it: per 3.5 oz (100 g) the grilled flesh has more protein (25.7 g) and selenium (66 ug) than raw, because water cooks off. — CoFID 2021 Mullet, Grey, flesh only, raw (16-095) vs grilled (16-096) (n = 2 records) Evidence E source
  Per 100 g raw vs grilled: water 75.2 vs 67.8 g, protein 19.8 vs 25.7 g, selenium 51 vs 66 ug, niacin 3.8 vs 4.4 mg
• By USDA's table for lean fish, broiling keeps about 95% of niacin and riboflavin and about 90% of thiamin and folate. — USDA Retention Factors Release 6, Finfish and Shellfish Products, lean finfish (<5% fat) broiled without drippings Evidence E source
  Retention: niacin 95%, riboflavin 95%, thiamin 90%, folate 90%, potassium 100%

What it does to your health

• In a randomized trial in adults with high blood lipids, eating fresh fish twice a week for 8 weeks lowered LDL cholesterol by about 23 mg/dL, while omega-3 capsules raised it. — Adults with hyperlipidemia, Iran, 8 weeks; fish arm ate trout (n = 106 randomized, 95 analyzed) Evidence B source
  LDL -22.75 ± 27.28 (fish) vs +18.7 ± 24.97 (capsules), P < 0.001
• A meta-analysis of mostly randomized trials in children found fish meals raised blood vitamin D by about 4 nmol/L, a modest gain. — Children 2-14 years in 7 studies (6 RCTs) (n = 1,074) Evidence A source
  25(OH)D +4.08 nmol/L (95% CI 1.73 to 6.43)
• Observational studies link eating more fish with about 21% lower risk of depression, with the clearest effect above about 2.4 oz (68 g) of fish a day. — 35 observational studies (44 datasets), adults and pregnant women (n = 35 studies) Evidence C source
  RR 0.79 (95% CI 0.73 to 0.86); RR 0.75 at 68.4 g/day or more
• In older adults, observational data link the highest fish intake with 18% lower risk of cognitive decline and of dementia. — Older adults in 35 observational studies (n = 35 studies) Evidence C source
  Cognitive impairment RR 0.82 (0.75 to 0.90); dementia RR 0.82 (0.73 to 0.93)

Safety, limits and interactions

• Mullet is one of the lowest-mercury fish FDA has tested, averaging 0.050 ppm across 20 samples. — FDA monitoring samples of commercial mullet, 1991-2008 (n = 20) Evidence E source
  Mean 0.050 ppm, median 0.014 ppm, max 0.27 ppm methylmercury
• FDA and EPA put mullet on their Best Choices list, which people who are pregnant or breastfeeding can eat 2 to 3 times a week at 4 ounces a serving. — People who are or might become pregnant or breastfeeding, and children 1-11 years, USA Evidence E source
  2-3 servings a week from Best Choices; 1 serving = 4 oz for adults
• In a Korean riverside village where people ate raw sweetfish and mullet, about a quarter of residents carried intestinal fluke eggs. — Residents along the Boseong River, South Korea, 2011-2012 (n = 115) Evidence C source
  Metagonimus eggs in 28 of 115 (24.3%)
• In an Italian survey, cadmium in red mullet exceeded the EU maximum level, while its mercury stayed at about 30% of the limit. — Fish and seafood products sampled in Italy, including red mullet Evidence C source
  Cd above EU ML in red mullet; Hg at 30% of ML

Who this works differently for

• Eating fish in pregnancy is linked with a 25% lower risk of food allergy in the child in observational studies, with no link to asthma. — Mothers and offspring in 31 observational studies (n = 31 studies) Evidence C source
  Food allergy 0.75 (0.64 to 0.88); wheeze 0.97 (0.96 to 0.99); asthma 0.99 (0.89 to 1.11)

The bottom line

Grilling makes gray mullet look richer per 3.5 oz (100 g). Protein goes from 19.8 to 25.7 g and selenium from 51 to 66 micrograms, and that rise is water loss, since water drops from 75.2 to 67.8 g. The USDA factor for broiled lean fish keeps 95% of niacin and riboflavin and 90% of thiamin and folate, a figure for the food group that nobody measured on mullet. US dietary surveys count one fillet as 140 g and a whole fish as 420 g, which are standard conversion measures rather than portions anyone watched people eat. Neither table we used gives mullet omega-3 content, so how much EPA a serving delivers is open. In a non-randomized Norwegian trial in 71 volunteers, cooked salmon at 1.2 g of EPA and DHA a day raised serum EPA by 129%, more than cod liver oil did at 3.0 g, and salmon is a far fattier fish than mullet. The wider fish findings are associations. Across 35 observational studies, eating more fish went with a 21% lower risk of depression (RR 0.79, 0.73 to 0.86), clearest above about 68 g a day. In older adults, the highest fish intake went with an 18% lower risk of cognitive decline and of dementia, and the dementia authors ask for more data. In 31 observational studies, fish in pregnancy went with a 25% lower risk of food allergy in the child and no link to asthma, while a 2026 cohort saw the opposite signal above one serving a week. Who should be careful. Raw fish can carry intestinal flukes. In a Korean riverside village where people ate raw sweetfish and mullet, 28 of 115 residents (24.3%) had fluke eggs, and the study did not separate mullet from the other raw fish. In an Italian survey cadmium in red mullet exceeded the EU maximum level while its mercury sat at 30% of the limit, and the abstract does not say how many mullet were sampled. For people who are or may become pregnant, who are breastfeeding, and for children, FDA and EPA advice allows 2 to 3 servings a week from its Best Choices list, with 4 ounces as an adult serving. Cook it through.

Sources

1. mul-daily-r1-01 · USDA FoodData Central SR Legacy and CoFID 2021, dataset
   Fish, mullet, striped, raw (FDC 175123, SR Legacy): selenium 36.5 ug = 66% DV; protein 19.35 g = 39% DV; niacin 5.2 mg = 32% DV; CoFID 2021 Mullet, Grey, flesh only, raw [16-095]: protein 19.8 g, selenium 51 ug, niacin 3.8 mg, fat 4.0 g, saturated fat 1.10 g; Mullet, Red, flesh only, raw [16-098]: protein 18.7 g, selenium 46 ug, niacin 3.6 mg; Foundation samples 0
   USDA FoodData Central, SR Legacy, FDC 175123; CoFID 2021 (Public Health England), codes 16-095, 16-098 · checked 2026-09-29
2. mul-daily-r1-04 · USDA FNDDS, dataset
   Fish, mullet (FNDDS 26123110, FDC 2706269): 1 fillet, any size = 140 g; 1 whole fish, any size = 420 g; 1 cup = 135 g; 1 oz yields = 20 g; Quantity not specified = 140 g
   USDA FNDDS, FDC 2706269, food code 26123110 · checked 2026-09-29
3. mul-daily-r1-11 · controlled clinical trial
   The serum content of EPA and DHA before and after intervention revealed a higher rise in EPA and DHA in the cooked salmon group (129% rise in EPA and 45% rise in DHA) as compared with CLO (106 and 25%, respectively) despite an intake of EPA and DHA in the CLO group of 3.0 g/d compared with 1.2 g/d in the cooked salmon group.
   Lipids, 2006 · checked 2026-09-29
4. mul-daily-r1-02 · CoFID 2021, dataset
   CoFID 2021 Mullet, Grey, flesh only, raw [16-095]: water 75.2 g, protein 19.8 g, fat 4.0 g, selenium 51 ug, niacin 3.8 mg per 100 g; Mullet, Grey, flesh only, grilled [16-096]: water 67.8 g, protein 25.7 g, fat 5.2 g, selenium 66 ug, niacin 4.4 mg per 100 g
   CoFID 2021 (Public Health England), codes 16-095, 16-096 · checked 2026-09-29
5. mul-daily-r1-03 · USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6 (2007)
   USDA-RETN-R6:2305 Finfish and Shellfish Products, FINFISH,<5%FAT,BROILED,WO/DRIPPINGS: thiamin 90%, folate 90%, riboflavin 95%, niacin 95%, potassium 100%
   USDA Table of Nutrient Retention Factors, Release 6, 2007, code 2305 · checked 2026-09-29
6. mul-daily-r1-09 · randomized controlled trial
   LDL level was increased in the supplementation group, while it was significantly reduced in the dietary-fish group (+18.7 ± 24.97 vs. -22.75 ± 27.28, P < 0.001).
   Nutr Diabetes, 2017 · checked 2026-09-29
7. mul-daily-r1-10 · meta-analysis of RCTs
   Meta-analysis was possible only for vitamin D (25(OH)D, 1,074 participants), showing a pooled mean difference of 4.08 nmol/L (95% CI: 1.73-6.43) favoring fish consumption;
   Front Nutr, 2026 · checked 2026-09-29
8. mul-daily-r1-12 · meta-analysis of observational studies
   A significant inverse association was found between fish consumption and depression risk (RR = 0.79, 95% CI: 0.73 to 0.86). ... Stratified analyses showed that only studies with fish intake ≥ 68.4 g/day demonstrated a statistically significant reduction in depression risk (RR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.67-0.84)
   Nutrients, 2025 · checked 2026-09-29
9. mul-daily-r1-13 · meta-analysis of observational studies
   Individuals reporting the highest vs. the lowest fish consumption were associated with a lower likelihood of cognitive impairment/decline (RR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.75, 0.90, I2 = 61.1%), dementia (RR = 0.82, 95% CI: 0.73, 0.93, I2 = 38.7%)
   Aging Clin Exp Res, 2024 · checked 2026-09-29
10. mul-daily-r1-05 · FDA monitoring data
    MULLET | 0.050 | 0.014 | 0.078 | ND | 0.27 | 20 | FDA 1991-2008
    US FDA, Mercury Levels in Commercial Fish and Shellfish (1990-2012) · checked 2026-09-29
11. mul-daily-r1-06 · FDA/EPA advice
    Eat 2 to 3 servings a week from the "Best Choices" list ... 1 serving is 4 ounces ... Mullet
    US FDA and EPA, Advice about Eating Fish, 2021 · checked 2026-09-29
12. mul-daily-r1-07 · cross-sectional parasitology survey
    The eggs of Metagonimus yokogawai together with other Metagonimus spp. were detected in 28 (24.3%) cases. ... They consumed raw freshwater and brackish water fish, including sweetfish and mullets.
    Acta Trop, 2015 · checked 2026-09-29
13. mul-daily-r1-08 · contaminant survey
    This metal exceeded the MLs in squid, red mullet, European hake and Atlantic cod. ... The concentrations of Hg in swordfish, Atlantic bluefin tuna and red mullet accounted for 50%, 30% and 30% of the MLs, respectively.
    Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2012 · checked 2026-09-29
14. mul-daily-r1-14 · meta-analysis of observational studies
    Greater maternal fish intake was associated with a reduced risk of wheeze (Pooled effect size: 0.97; 95% CI: 0.96-0.99) and food allergy (0.75; 95% CI: 0.64-0.88).
    Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr, 2022 · checked 2026-09-29