Fish Consumption Advisories
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| My reason for commenting on this issue is not only to make us aware of the advisories but also draw our attention to the sources of the toxic chemicals that result in the advisories. Often, when faced with issues, we just look at the result without looking at the cause and then asking the larger question, “What, if anything, can we do about it?” |
| Now I don’t want to get heavily into the science of this issue but we should be aware that most foodstuff has to a greater or lesser degree some form of noxious chemicals present. Fish tend to have more than we would like, the most harmful being PCB’s, dioxins and mercury. Because fish are a predator species, over a period of time they consume small amounts of toxics many times. These accumulate in the fatty tissues of the fish and are not easily eliminated. Therefore, larger fish tend to have more accumulated toxic chemicals than smaller fish. Apart from the fact that the larger fish are more prolific spawners, this is another reason why you should keep the smaller fish as table fare. To a degree, some very toxic chemicals such as mercury appear in our environment naturally so to begin with there will always be a small source that we can’t do anything about. However, through indiscriminate disposal of chemicals such as mercury in thermostats, thermometers, broken fluorescent bulbs and electronics and toxic chemicals from the smoke stacks of industry (coal fired power plants are really bad) and incineration (see my article on burning), mankind has introduced a pile of poison into the ground (leaches into ground and surface water), the air (deposits into the water) and in some cases directly into the water. Unfortunately, many airborne deposits are global in nature so that toxics from other places in the world can affect us and our pollution can also affect other global communities. This is a big international problem and hard for the average person to deal with. However, the other things that I have mentioned can be impacted upon even if it is ever so slightly, by our own behaviour. Some larger issues such as industrial pollution might require some sort of political action. That I will have to leave to you to decide.
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| Fish advisories are not published to scare you away from fishing and consuming fish. What they tell me is when, where and how (table fare or catch and release) I should fish and help me make some decisions for my family about fish consumption. I firmly believe in moderation and eating fish poses no problem to me. However, over-consumption could very well be a problem for some people in the long run. |  |
| I encourage everyone to become aware of these advisories because they contain a wealth of information about the environment and the health of our communities while sill preserving the integrity of the angling experience. Most state (U.S.A.) and provincial (Canada) governments publish fish advisories and I suggest that you contact your local DNR or MNR offices for more information. Good information is also available on the internet. Plug “Fish Consumption Advisory” or “Great Lakes Fish Advisories” into your favourite search engine and you will have tons of great information. Being from Ontario, I’ll go out on a limb and recommend the “Introductory Section” of the 2001-2002 Guide to Eating Ontario Sports Fish. This is just one example of some really good general information. Search out “Ontario Fish Advisory”. In Ontario, you can pick up a hard copy at the local beer store?
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 | “Now, what could be better than this!"
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