According to EPA, eating fish is almost like taking poison. Americans consume much less fish than Japanese, while Japanese is much more healthier than American. Making me wonder whether EPA advisory is trustworthy or not, just like they claim the well water is unsafe close to power plants, then study found that those well water are of same quality when compared to wells hundreds of miles away.
Depends on what specific advisory you're talking about. Eating fish out of Crabtree Creek in Raleigh? Not a good idea. I think Japan eats a lot of fish from the ocean which is probably healthier than fish from local rivers and lakes. A lot of inland water has been polluted from industries and power plants, I would trust those advisories! And yes, they do studies and take samples before setting advisories. There was a time when Crabtree Creek had no advisory, then they went and did some samples, and what'ya know, massive pollution.
I did some research on this because I wondered why fish in lakes have advisories. I can understand creeks and rivers near plants, but why lakes? Here is how the pollution works:
1. Coal-fired power plant emits poison such as mercury into the air
2. Mercury lands on the water everywhere
3. Plankton and bacteria end up consuming those poisons
4. Baitfish feed on the the plankton
5. Gamefish feed on the baitfish
Also, once the poison is in a fish it doesn't leave, so fish slowly build up the poisons over time until we catch and eat them.
Mercury Contamination of Aquatic Ecosystems
Yep it depends on what water body and why there is an advisory. Crabtree Creek has an advisory for PCB where lots of coastal streams have warnings due to mercury. If I'm not mistaken a large source of coastal mercury is due to mercury leaching out of peaty wetland soils as they break down after drainage ditches are installed.
Many of the chemicals/elements for these advisories are things that bioaccumulate so if you eat these fish don't eat them frequently and don't serve to young children or pregnant mothers.
They have also gotten better at how they take fish samples. Early on they would just grind the fish whole and measure the contaminates in them. Now the actually measure the contaminates in the meat of a skinless filet in addition to samples from whole fish and individual organs in the fish to get a better understanding of the distribution. Certain species will carry more of a risk based on their feeding habits and older fish as well due to the bioaccumulation.
Good point - they issue advisories for different fish in the same water based on how long those fish live, and what they eat. Predatory fish such as Crappie that eat baitfish are usually high on the advisory list based on the food chain described above.Quote:
Originally Posted by fliesforall
Let me see...They tell you not to eat a Crappie that you may eat twice a month but don't say much about the genetic altering of the grain so it will produce more. They know it generates more fat and we eat it every day. I say eat what you want and die happy.
Im with you Dancer if went lived our lives by every advisory that is put out there, from what causes cancer to what is in your food that is produced here in the USA we would starve to death in a month, Eat, Drink, and be merry.Quote:
Originally Posted by SEA DANCER
If you enjoy something give it enough time and they will tell you it's bad for you and causes cancer. Then three years reverse that and say it wasn't so bad afterall but these other things are now bad for you. I'm like the others, eat what I like within reason and enjoy life you're gonna go sometime anyhow!
Eat all you want but again, think about how much you are feeding children and young mothers
Cant be worse then eating farm raised genetically modifies fish fed articficial feed loaded with protein and other hormones to make them grow faster, swimming in poo and other waste contaminated ponds! Just saying! I dont trust ANY fish from the market unless its at the beach bought directly from a commercial fisherman. Then again, cant think of the last time i bought fish! Just sayin'
Pete - see where they busted a comment fisherman harvesting oysters in a closed area in Brunswick county.
Yeppp!Quote:
Originally Posted by todobien
rather scary....
Yep... You're right about the peat. Bay Tree Lake near Elizabethtown has mercury poisoning from the peat. You're not even supposed to go in the water at that lake. Usually swimmimg advisories are due to bacteria, but at that lake there's actually a swimming advisory because of mercury.Quote:
Originally Posted by todobien
Wouldn't it make more sense, healthwise, to have a legal size below the size of larger fish that have higher toxicity levels. The government is more concerned about the fish population than the human population. (figures) nonono
Size limits are typically set to allow fish to reproduce at least once before being susceptible to harvest to sustain the population...there are some exceptions with put and take fish such as mountain trout and striped bass hybrids
Even with the signs and warnings there are plenty of people harvesting fish from crabtree. Time will tell if it affects them or not.
The health benefits from fresh properly handled fish is huge.
I would steer clear of the most polluted waters.But other than that use wisely. Just because you bought it in a supermarket,restaurant, does not mean its safe.Trust me on that.
Mercury is a naturally occurring substance and can show up anywhere.The problem with the heavy metals is they are in the flesh....where a lot of other contaminants are in the fat and bone and are greatly reduced through proper handling.
I am pushing 60 now.....when I was younger I liked to catfish and snag paddlefish. I was young,not well informed (pre internet days) and strapped to feed my family all the time. We ate thousands of catfish,paddlefish ,(and some other fish)from the Mississippi,Ohio,Tennessee and Cumberland rivers .Have Kids and grandkids now . We are all more than reasonably healthy and have no health issues I could contribute to eating these fish. I always,filleted, trimmed and washed all my fish thoroughly.
It may not have been the best thing to do.But I am reasonably sure it was better than them eating a diet of junk food and prepared foods with a lot of additives in them.
doggone, I can totally understand your scenario. When it comes to PCB's my thought is why take the risk? The concentration of PCB's in Crabtree is pretty high. So high in fact the advisory is no fish be kept from that lake. Crabtree Creek runs downstream into the Neuse and there are PCB's found in the whole stretch.
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