Eat the fish you catch - WHERE? (Cary, Asheville: safe, moving)
Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, CaryThe Triangle Area
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I haven't been fishing in a long time, but I used to love fishing and want to start again. My question is, from which local water source is it safe to eat the fish? Every time I look into a particular body of water in the area, I find guidance to not eat the fish, or eat in extremely limited quantities.
Is there any body of water (creek/stream, river, pond or lake) from which I can catch and SAFELY eat fish more than a couple of times a month?
I'm seeing numerous sources that say to not eat most species of fish from most bodies of water. In some instances, they advise against eating any type of fish caught in particular bodies of water.
There are plenty of other sources too. The main concerns seem to be Mercury and PCBs, but there are other toxins, too such as dioxins.
The link you provided, unless I missed it, says nothing about the eating of fish. It only talks about "sport fish" which doesn't refer to fish for eating.
The first link you posted answers your question. It lists 10 species that are ok to eat in eastern NC and 7 in the central part of the state. It also offers specific guidance for many waters.
...and note that water bodies not listed in that first link don't have any specific advisories. In particular, the key local reservoirs (Falls Lake [which is not Falls Reservoir], Jordan Lake, Little River Reservoir) are fine.
It does list a PCB advisory for most surface waters in Wake County, with the exception of Swift Creek (i.e., Lake Benson/Wheeler).
Most bodies of water are safe, locally, at least for most species, the notable exception being Brier Creek/little Brier Creek, BC Reservoir.
The Neuse River, unless you want to eat carp. Catfish it says one meal a month. Bluegill/Bream/Sunfish/Warmouth/Shellcrackers, crappie, etc, can be eaten.
Jordan and Falls Lake. Lake Benson, Lake Wheeler. Bass Lake Park in Holly Springs or Bond Park in Cary.
If you have a hankering for eating catfish, I recommend Bass Lake Park.
Just my .02, when it comes to catfish specifically (since they're plentiful and often eaten here in the South,) keep the smaller ones (12-24 inches) and don't eat the belly meat. Even fish known as tablefare become more "fishy" the bigger they are.
don't eat anything caught in Crabtree Creek, nor probably the Neuse before Kinston if not all the way to New Bern.
I have no idea why it wouldn't be generally safe to eat fish from Umstead Park lakes. From decent-sized farm ponds (if you find them that will let you fish), if they're not active farms that spray pesticides
don't eat anything caught in Crabtree Creek, nor probably the Neuse before Kinston if not all the way to New Bern.
I have no idea why it wouldn't be generally safe to eat fish from Umstead Park lakes. From decent-sized farm ponds (if you find them that will let you fish), if they're not active farms that spray pesticides
Neuse is fine except for eating lots of catfish (or carp, but who would?) It gets enough water moving through that it's not as bad as some think.
don't eat anything caught in Crabtree Creek, nor probably the Neuse before Kinston if not all the way to New Bern.
I have no idea why it wouldn't be generally safe to eat fish from Umstead Park lakes. From decent-sized farm ponds (if you find them that will let you fish), if they're not active farms that spray pesticides
There was a major chemical spill for 15 years in late 60s and 70s, which eventually polluted the lakes with PCBs. It's now a EPA superfund site and I wouldn't eat anything out of the lake...
Not sure about fishing, but here is a neat app that lets you see if the body of water is suitable for swimming: https://www.theswimguide.org/find
FWIW, a couple of streams in Asheville consistently get high marks for swimming, fishing, etc. One thing to consider with rivers in NC is the e.coli. If I remember correctly we do not have any legislature in place to not allow hog farms to let their sh*t flow into our rivers. Additionally, a lot of environmental protections have been stripped off in the last 10 years.
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