92 poisons in Northwest Fish

[SandySteel]

Here is an interesting article I heard on the radio this morning.
http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/op...ICLE_ID=328571
I have never really trusted eating fish like sturgeon because they live most of their lives feeding on the bottom of Columbia. Now they find that sturgeon is high in carcinogenic chemicals. (they also studied salmonids and eels to satisfy a request for a test of the fish in Columbia by the tribes.)

I am just curious what everyone's reaction to this study is. I think the fact of the matter is that, yes, we have dumped a bunch of crap in the river, yes, the fish have it in their flesh, yes, we eat it. We are surrounded by the toxins of a modern society. We use pesticides on our vegetables and hormones in our beef and as the article pointed out much of our other foods have the same toxins. Also, the toxin levels are lower than they were 30 years ago.
Still it is a bit disquieting to think that what I have always considered some of the best parts of my diet is tainted with an edge of chemicals that can kill me.

[Hottamale1]

Eric,

It's unbelievable really. For some reason, I like to catch Sturgeon, but always seem to pass the keepers off to my buddies :grin:

I know...it's not THAT funny but I've caught some pretty scary looking Sturgeon in the Willamette...Kinda like the ones those 3 guys tried to enter into the Sturgeon Derby last year!

Scott

[Thick-N-Thin]

Mmmmm...Maybe that's why they taste so good! [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img]

[OR Coast Range]

Mmmmm...Maybe that's why they taste so good!

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Just like a *****ie ...

Mmm ... the tw1nk got modded out of my tw1nkie!

[ 02-15-2002, 09:24 AM: Message edited by: Oregon Fish Chaser ]

[TundraIII]

Something that should be mentioned in regards to high levels of toxins in fish flesh is that the majority of the toxins are concentrated in the fatty tissues. If your going to eat the fish and are concerned with toxin content, you can reduce the amount of toxin you ingest by skinning the filet and removing the fat. The fat layer is easy to see in salmon but I'm not sure about sturgeon. The important thing is to get the skin off because alot of fat comes off with it. I rarely hear this tip mentioned by the news
media when they report some study that's been conducted. I suppose this is elementary info for most fishermen, but there could be a few folks that might not be aware that there is a way to reduce the amount of toxins ingested by eating fish. Just remember that these toxins reported in this latest report, DDT and PCB's in particular,
are synthetically engineered and dont break down if at all in nature. Rivers and waterways get "cleaner" when the dumping stops and this stuff is washed down stream or covered by silt, but the contaminants that are ingested by creatures in the food web
stay in the food web. You are what you eat......

[NAUTI-NOTIONS]

The gator's in that legal slot are 15 to 17 years old. not the 100 year old guys
there's more toxin in second hand smoke than that table feast.
with my catch record as proof i've got a better chance of dying from too much sex than eating too much toxic sturgeon.
most those guy's are whites comming up out of the gay bay area. not living full time the in columbia.
my only concern would be eating native fish of the hanford area.
but,, if my card was full i may have a diffrent outlook

[kingofbacklash]

Eric,
My reaction has been to slow down on sturgeon intake. This happened quite a long time ago. I still like to fish for them, and will on occasion take one to eat. If I do take one to eat I'll trim all the fat off before eating.

God Bless

fearsnofish

[Mad Mikey]

I think the reporting is biased. What about the toxins found in NW fishermen??? The amount of chemicals injested by a boatload of happy fishermen in an afternoon would make us basically inedidble methinks
On a similar note i.e. ********* bounty program, what is that REALLY about? Although I have no opinion a conspiracy theory nut friend of mine thinks the fish are all being examined for crap from the Hanford Site. Might make a good X-files theme... [img]graemlins/idea.gif[/img] (Add eerie music here.)

Mike

[casteal]

Do you really trust those tree huggers. I keep darn few, but the ones I do keep have to be fat, sharps spikes, and a dark back. It helps to lick them and see of you can taste salt.

[Jennie@ifish]

I simply suggest that you all just quit fishing for them.
:smile: :smile: :smile:
I'll be tough and eat them for you.
Jen