Fish consumption advisory?

[tufnik]

Mike,
Overall, the striper is probably the better choice. You eat a cheeseburger and you don't get the fun of pullage. And we all know more fun (and less stress) is good for long life

[J.A. Veil]

Mike,
Overall, the striper is probably the better choice. You eat a cheeseburger and you don't get the fun of pullage. And we all know more fun (and less stress) is good for long life

Plus you get the Omega-3 oils from all the menhaden eaten by the rockfish ---Oh, that's right, the menhaden are already being captured for external Omega 3 oil production, and the rockfish can't find enough.

[Southerly]

i think advisory on coastal migratory fish is largely based on uncertainties in the intermingling of the stocks from various areas. for example - i believe hudson river has/had a pcb problem and we don't know if they migrate into chesapeake.

Md. has historically tested fish from its waters and i don't think there was an advisory on migratory fish based on those results. i understand the advisory was based on the recommendations of a coastal migratory fish advisory committee (sic) - sorry i don't remember the name. and that fact used to be footnoted on the old advisory but i didn't see it on the new link. maybe things have changed.

but oddly enough, that committee did not actually do any testing. instead they compiled results from the several jurisdictions that did do testing, including Md. it's interesting to note that those jurisdictions used various methodology for their testing. for example direct vs inferential testing for pcbs, due to the higher cost for direct testing. individual fish tissue testing vs batch testing of multiple-fish tissue samples. as conclusion of their study, they came out with the recommendation, adopted by Md. was it fear of liability/lawsuits, political, conservation-oriented????

all the info is/was available on the net, including the actual test reports/data etc. i dug around and found it because i originally felt like unknown forces were trying to scare fishermen away from fishing. (not very consistent with diamond jim contest, possibly). i never did find any real info about the advisory committee - who selected them, paid for the study, etc..

but in the end, i decided the reasonable thing was to heed fair warning, especially as regards my daughter, too young to decide on her own. as regards lack of labeling at the restaurant menu or seafood counter, i think that it's supposed that you will not exceed advisory by such individual purchase(s) from different sources. not sure i buy that entirely, but there it is.

for me - i still enjoy good yellow crab mustard every once in awhile, ever since i was a kid. fwiw, a properly-cleaned soft shell should not have much mustard since you're supposed to cut the face off, then scoop all the guts out with your finger. but, i do not believe a lot of restaurant cooks know this,...

[surfdog]

I'm guessing softshells are no good at all? You're basically eating the whole thing... mustard and all.

soft shells are cleaned before cooking, yum

[daddyg]

I have fished the patapsaco for 30 yrs I dont eat the cat's carp or perch thay are here all summer the rock are just moving south to the open ocean...I fish Virginia in January Im sure a few went sightseeing thru Baltimore...

[Yak Fish]

I found this article about the Middle Branch area of the Patapsco. Interesting read. Damn industrial waste.

http://www.middlebranchbaltimore.com...t_pgs59-72.pdf

[J.A. Veil]

During the late 1980s, I managed MDE's industrial discharge program for the entire state. Among the things I oversaw was the federal National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting program. Every point source discharge (municipal sewage treatment plant or industry) required a permit that placed limits on the amount of various contaminants could be discharged.

Other folks in MDE evaluated overall water quality and sampled different streams around the state and multiple locations in Baltimore Harbor. Unfortunately, some of the sediments in the harbor were contaminated with decades of pollution. Even as the actual discharges cleaned up over time, the sediments remained as repositories of chemicals that leached into the water column. Over time, ongoing natural sedimentation began to cover up the dirty sediments.

So, is the harbor clean? I suspect that the water quality in many parts of the harbor is clean and meets state water quality standards. In other locations, particularly where historic dirty industries were located or where poorly controlled stormwater runoff and sewer overflows are released, the water quality probably does not meet standards.

I do not eat a large amount of fish or crabs in general, nor do I personally fish or crab in the Patapsco. If I did catch fish or crabs regularly in the harbor, I would be very careful about where the fish were caught, whether they lived in the water column or were bottom feeders, and whether they are full-time residents of the harbor or temporary migrants.

I also concur with those who point out that virtually every agricultural product (meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit, nuts, etc) has some degree of contamination, whether from pesticides used to improve appearance and crop yields or other chemicals taken up by the plant or animal through its diet or water source. Even organic foods (which often means it was fertilized by manure rather than by chemical fertilizers and additives) get exposed to things that we as humans would probably not choose to eat.

I think that eating fish or crabs in moderation is a good policy. Remove the portions of any fish that have higher than average levels of contaminants, and eat the cleaner flesh.

[DOGFISH]

I found this article about the Middle Branch area of the Patapsco. Interesting read. Damn industrial waste.

http://www.middlebranchbaltimore.com...t_pgs59-72.pdf

I noticed that they failed to mention the gigantic city garbage dump, landfill, that was, or still is, along the hiway, which is near Harbor Hospital. That must still leach something into the water. Altough, even when the dump was active, people used to fish off the bridges along the hiway that passes by the hospital. Quite frankly, I remember much of what they talked about along that area. The junk yard was huge. How many people on the forum remember when the upper Patapsco used to run white, from a paper recycling plant upstream? The water was actually white. Agnes washed away the plant. Of course, Agnes also washed away alot of the sediment that was along the upper river into the bay. The polution sometimes comes from along way off.

[DOGFISH]

I have fished the patapsaco for 30 yrs I dont eat the cat's carp or perch thay are here all summer the rock are just moving south to the open ocean...I fish Virginia in January Im sure a few went sightseeing thru Baltimore...

The smaller stripers up to about the 30" size verywell may have grown up in the bay. The bay is a nursery for stripers. Spawned in the rivers, grow in the bay and them move to the oceans.

[medicyaker]

I grew up in Baltimore Highlands (Illinois ave) which is a community on the Baltimore Co and Anne Arundel Co line on Annapolis Rd. The line being the Patapsco River. I remember the river at its worst when you would regularly see clumps of feces, (Turds) floating down stream. I also remember as a kid fishing off of the Steel Bridge that was there, prior to the one that is now. I was a young teen when agnes came through and recall the destruction. There has ALWAYS been a treatment plant there at that bridge for as long as I can remember. Its been improved quite a bit from what it was in those days but there are still problems with the river. I can't believe that the state stocks fish in the river, however, there is MUCH better water quality up stream in the State Park where the stocking occurs than it has been in previous years. I wonder if the harbor is on any type of federal cleanup list? I remember hearing something about that a few years ago. The Patapsco has the potential to be a magnificant fishery, providing it gets the attention it needs and my fears are that like everything else, the state/federal money isn't there.

[DOGFISH]

The water used to run white even through the state park back in the 60s. Since about the late 70s, or whenever the park reopened after Agnes. It took a few years. I have fished for smallmouth bass in the park. I have not been there in years. I would go up the dirt road from the pond and fish the pools in the river for bass. I used to do really well, just wade fishing. It was fun.

[medicyaker]

There are still NICE Smallmouth in the river. I generally put over above Daniels Dam and paddle upstream for the smallmouth and have had good success in that area too. I flyfish below the dam for Trout.