Fish consumption..dangerous to people?

[surfman]

I live in Texas, and have been reading our Texas Parks and Wildlife website. It advises not to eat predatory speices of fish more that 8ounces once a month. The culprit is mercury..in most cases, and PCB's in the others. This alert covers every lake,river, and even the Gulf of Mexico!
This state spends lots of money and effort stocking the finest fishing in the world...yet coal fired electrical plants (growing by leaps and bounds as more energy is required) have poisoned our fish! This is not an alarmist speaking, it is the very government who depends on we fishemen for money. They wouldn't say it if it were'nt the case. I recently read a study that said 80% of the catfish caught and dressed for a study, revealed they had cancer. This was the Mississippi River.
Another article in the paper said Texas's Coal fired Electrical plants are poisoning the Great Lakes. Apparently this mercury stuff drifts on winds and is puting mercury in fish way up there!
I'm wanting to move to a place safe to eat my catch. I've driven around Arkansas, Missourri, and Tennessee. Have any of you guys checked out your state fishing website to see if your fish are safe? Would like to hear from those who eat their catch.
E

[skeeter944]

welcome to the forum surfman! i dont usaully eat my catch.

[bassbooger]

We are the same way here. Except for the only fish that can't be eaten around my area are catfish and bass. They recommend no mor ethan 6 oz. a year of either one of those. Any other fish are just fine.

[ToPwAt'R GuY]

Most of the fish here are safe to eat. There are some exceptions but overall we have good waters.

[zooker]

yeah booger it won't stop many from eating them..
mercury gets in the water -mostly in reservoirs-as a seepage from asphalt. when they flood a reservoir they don't remove stuff like the roadways,old septic tanks,sewer lines,gaslines,ect.. this stuff all can pollute the water with mercury..


zooker

[Christopherkeene9]

I eat all of my fish. The state of Fl recommends only some many servings of each species per week/month. The sizes are of course different for men and women compared to children and pregnant women.


Christopher

[Marty]

Here in New York the general advice is to eat no more than a half-pound per week, with a lot of specifics based on age, gender, species and specific bodies of water.

[ROBZILLA]

Just turn the fish head down in the freezer the mercury will go to the lowest spot in the the fish the head. lol

I crack myself up some times!

[FlyRod]

Originally Posted by ROBZILLA

Just turn the fish head down in the freezer the mercury will go to the lowest spot in the the fish the head. lol

I crack myself up some times!

Yeah, CRACK will do that. (Depending on gender, body weight, age, and religious affiliation, of course.)

FR

[flfireman]

The St Johns had the same warning for most of the river since last year.

[flbassman]

^^^^^^Yup. Daggum green algae.......

[FlyRod]

Fish consumption, whether harmful to humans or not, has been proven to, in all instances, be harmful to the fish...really!

FlyRod
Humane type

[keithdog]

I read once that most contaminents in game fish is stored in the body fat. I live close to Lake Michigan and this issue comes up every spring especially with the trout and salmon fishing which is so prominent here. They recommend of course pregnant women not eatting any at all. However, I have read that if one fillets his catch, and removes the belly fat and lateral line fat, that leaves you with a fillet that is fat free and without most of the contaminents. Anyone else heard of this advise? I've also read that if you do this, the benefits of eatting the fish outweight the dangers when compared to eatting beef.

[jrward]

Hare in Arkansas, I fish the big lakes for fun but for food, I look for the smaller lakes and ponds with no runoffs. There are alot of ponds with big fish all across the state. With no runoff into these type small waters, the fish are the best I've ever eaten.Don't let the size fool you, I've caught plenty of bass over 8lbs. crappie over 2.5lbs. and bluegill over a pound,you can't get any better than a plate of bluegill and crappie fillets.

Originally Posted by surfman

I live in Texas, and have been reading our Texas Parks and Wildlife website. It advises not to eat predatory speices of fish more that 8ounces once a month. The culprit is mercury..in most cases, and PCB's in the others. This alert covers every lake,river, and even te Gulf of Mexico!
This state spends lots of money and effort stocking the finest fishing in the world...yet coal fired electrical plants (growing by leaps and bounds as more energy is required) have poisoned our fish! This is not an alarmist speaking, it is the very government who depends on we fishemen for money. They wouldn't say it if it were'nt the case. I recently read a study that said 80% of the catfish caught and dressed for a study, revealed they had cancer. This was the Mississippi River.
Another article in the paper said Texas's Coal fired Electrical plants are poisoning the Great Lakes. Apparently this mercury stuff drifts on winds and is puting mercury in fish way up there!
I'm wanting to move to a place safe to eat my catch. I've driven around Arkansas, Missourri, and Tennessee. Have any of you guys checked out your state fishing website to see if your fish are safe? Would like to hear from those who eat their catch.
E