Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
The PA fish commission has consumption warnings/recomendations for all fish caught within the state. As might be expected, larger fish and bottom dwellers (catfish, carp, ...) have a higher concentration of chemicals. The guidelines are based on the detection of all chemicals not just mercury. They also suggest that in preparing fish, you remove the dark colored flesh along the sides and on the back.
Its not always bigger fish....in Delaware bay smaller flounder and blue fish are warned about....because its a nursery and they have not been to sea yet.
I had not been particularly worried for myself abut eating too much mercury, but I held a somewhat strong concern over the levels being reported in streams and fish, based on various reports. However, a couple of days ago, I received this email from my brother:
I just received lab test results to determine if I have contracted heavy metal poisoning over the years as a result of working with toxic metals in my sculpture. Bottom line is that all tests (arsenic, lead, mercury and cadmium) are well below the toxicity threshold. End of story, right?
But wait. There's more information here than meets the eye.
I am a fish lover and seafood junkie. I love to fish--usually 50-100 days a year. I'm not a catch-and-release kind of guy. I don't like to play with my food. If it swims, crawls on the bottom or burrows in the mud, chances are I've eaten it. Regularly.
For over a decade I've eaten fish on average two meals a week. All of this is what I catch myself. It may have been from the Gulf of Maine, Lake Champlain, Gulf of Mexico, off the Florida Keys, swamp marshes in Florida, or any of the dozens of rivers, lakes and ponds here in Vermont. I've figured that my remaining life is just too short to be worried about dying or getting ill from mercury poisoning. Nonetheless, one might expect to see at least some significant presence of mercury in my body.
Not so. My mercury reading is <1 ug/spec. Reference range is <10 (toxic >50). So, all those pounds and pounds of fish eaten so regularly over the past 10-plus years appear to have contributed little or nothing in the way of mercury poisoning.
True, this is just one lab test done on a single individual. But I would suggest you consider it in
the context of prevailing media hype when making important lifestyle decisions.
While I wouldn't recommend young children or pregnant women start eating tons of fish, I think for normal adults the evidence is pretty clear that it is a non-issue. However... I am SURE my brother is happy that so many people buy into the idea. Here is a line from another of his emails:
"Took home a 5-pound (20-inch) largemouth and a 14-inch crappie. Left the rest to grow bigger. I don't fish XXXXX 'cause of the press of people, though it's not bad this time of year. But it's overfished."
It appears that the scare has taken a lot of pressure off the fish populations, and that decent size fish are again becoming abundant. Sooo - my take now is - Stay AWAY from those fish! Our family will help you avoid them.
I lived near the Ohio River for almost 30 years and we heard those mercury reports but it didn't bother people around there very much. Seems like then with how many fish you would have to eat to be adversely affected, you would have to eat fish three meals a day plus snacks for several years. And I'm doing good to catch enough fish for one meal! lol
I think the study is a bit misleading and panic inducing. It didn't test all streams, just a fraction of those in the U.S., and primarily those near denser areas. I'd expect many Eastern U.S. streams such as those in NJ, MA, CT, etc., to be contaminated, whereas many in, say, Alaska, may be much cleaner. Additionally, heavy metals occur naturally in some waters. Arsenic, mercury, etc., can all get into water quite naturally. Generally not in high enough concentrations to harm you.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
