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[#0000ff][url "http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/56798720-78/consumption-county-environmental-fish.html.csp"]LINK TO ARTICLE[/url]
This morning's Salt Lake Tribune ran a piece on the newest findings for mercury contamination in Utah's fish...by waters and by species.
Some were ongoing, some were new.
Also some discussion on the causes of mercury contamination in the various waters.
Hmmmm. Utah Lake was not even on the list. But there are still lots of folks who roll their eyes and blather about mercury whenever the subject of eating fish from Utah Lake comes up.
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]
Hmmmm. Utah Lake was not even on the list.
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maybe not for Hg, but it is listed for PCB's in channel cats. Maybe those people confuse Hg with PCB?
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Isn't it more PCB's in Utah Lake?
Only Trout I have consumed was from Strawberry....still good there.
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[#0000FF] There is often an "overlap" between  and uninformed.
The PCB warnings are mainly for carp and for LARGER CATFISH. Both are longer lived and at the top of a food chain for accumulation.
There was much less in smaller catfish and not enough to warrant concern in walleyes, white bass, crappies, sunfish or other species.
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No burbot from Flaming Gorge either. I thought they were on the list, guess I should check instead of listen to what people tell me.
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[#0000FF]Right. PCBs are the main pollutant in Utah Lake...besides phosphorus and other goodies from agricultural, commercial and residential runoff.
But it is funny that the levels listed for the carp and big catfish as being hazardous...from Utah Lake...are lower than that found in some wild salmon being sold fresh in fish markets.
And mercury levels in canned tuna is sometimes higher than that in the Utah fish species listed as a cautionary measure. Guess the commercial tuna industry has a better lobbying group than Utah sport fish.
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[quote submoa]No burbot from Flaming Gorge either. I thought they were on the list, guess I should check instead of listen to what people tell me.[/quote]
[ul][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#brough"]Brough Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#calf"]Calf Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#green"]Desolation Canyon[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#duchesne"]Duchesne River[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#eastforksevier"]East Fork Sevier River[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#gunlock"]Gunlock Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#joe"]Joe's Valley Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#jordanelle"]Jordanelle Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#powell"]Lake Powell[/url][/li][/ul]
[ul][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#lowash"]Lower Ashley Creek Drainage & Stewart Lake[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#mill"]Mill Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#newcastle"]Newcastle Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#pine"]Pine Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#porcupine"]Porcupine Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#quail"]Quail Creek Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#recap"]Recapture Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#red"]Red Fleet Reservoir[/url][/li][/ul]
[ul][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#rock"]Rock Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#sand"]Sand Hollow Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#starv"]Starvation Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#stein"]Steinaker Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#silver"]Silver Creek[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#upper"]Upper Enterprise Reservoir[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#utah"]Utah Lake[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#weber"]Weber River[/url][/li][li][url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/#Silver%20Creek%20%28Summit%20County%29"]Yuba Reservoir[/url][/li][/ul][#0000FF]For some reason, Flaming Gorge is not on the list of waters tested by Utah. Probably Wyoming. But there are currently warnings both for burbot and for large macks.[/#0000FF]
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Just another reason to eat smaller younger fish and leave the bigguns to reproduce. Us that care for the resource know these things, foreigners and rednecks need to be edumacated. 99% of the fish I catch live to fight another day, except carp (sorry goddess). Hell last week I even let one of them monsters live, must be getting old and soft. Lol
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[#0000FF]I keep and eat quite a few fish...but mostly the ones without chemical problems or small enough that they neither have enough to be worried about and that are not really potential trophies.
I do not advocate the wholesale slaughter of carp, except in Utah Lake. Most other places I catch carp I also release them. In some lakes they contribute more to the food chain (babies) than they detract from the ecology. As long as there is an observed natural balance there is no need to remove them.
I can understand why you let that beauty go. She got such a purty pucker. Woulda been a better picture if you planted a smooch on her lovely lips before the release. Heck...Jimmy Houston does it.
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[#502800]Looks like Jimmy, about 40 years ago.[/#502800]
[#502800]So if I want to glow in the dark when I'm 80, I have to eat bigger fish?[/#502800]
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[quote WaveWolf][#502800]Looks like Jimmy, about 40 years ago.[/#502800]
[#502800]So if I want to glow in the dark when I'm 80, I have to eat bigger fish?[/#502800] [/quote]
[#0000FF]I dunno. I'm not quite there (80) yet but I can't even remember what a good "glow" is like. Not sure I ever got one from a fish.
A lot of "ologies" involved in formulating an answer for that question: ecology, ichthyology, physiology, mineralology, toxicology, theology, radiology, etc. Best answer I can offer is "Gee...I don't got no idea." Not sure I would even wanna be around to check at age 80.
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[quote dtayboyz]Just another reason to eat smaller younger fish and leave the bigguns to reproduce. Us that care for the resource know these things, foreigners and rednecks need to be edumacated. 99% of the fish I catch live to fight another day, except carp (sorry goddess). Hell last week I even let one of them monsters live, must be getting old and soft. Lol[/quote]
Oh now your just showing off you sexy thing. Just making me want you more....now that you add big carp to you Sturgeon abilities.[  ][  ]
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[quote TubeDude][#0000ff]
But it is funny that the levels listed for the carp and big catfish as being hazardous...from Utah Lake...are lower than that found in some wild salmon being sold fresh in fish markets.
And mercury levels in canned tuna is sometimes higher than that in the Utah fish species listed as a cautionary measure. Guess the commercial tuna industry has a better lobbying group than Utah sport fish.
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well....yes and no. That's the whole problem. When you have two different agencies regulating and using different measurements.
Keep in mind that the commercial stuff being sold in the grocery store is regulated by the FDA (Food and Drug Administration). Warnings on sport caught fish in Utah waters are regulated by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency). They each use different measurements, and both require warnings at different levels.
But, you are pretty much right. A can of tuna fish, or that gourmet swordfish dinner you had at the expensive seafood restaurant, very well may contain higher levels of mercury than any fish in Utah -- and you're getting it with no warning!
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Honestly I don't think its worth getting worried over all of these health hazards. Besides eating fish from polluted waters, we also live in a world where it's still legal to smoke cigarettes, where so many preservatives/chemicals are used in food, vehicles still use exhaust gasoline/diesel, and of course the billions of things factories emit. So pretty much we're polluting the whole earth's air,water, etc. Basically you have to choose whether or not you want to freak out about pollution.
However the mercury and pcb are showing up, the only 3 possible solutions would be to 1-continue eating fish and risk it, or 2- stop eating fish or do it hardly ever like the article suggests(yeah right at people actually doing that), or 3- Somehow find a way to control/get rid of the mercury(doubtful but with our technology you won't ever know).
As for the mercury, I'm curious about how it is showing up. That article even said scientists don't fully understand why mercury/etc is showing up. I suspect the reason is past dumpings in water sources and now it is permanently there because it's not like we can clean up the bottom where it stored since its underwater. But honestly I don't know and it sounds like scientists don't understand either.
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[#0000FF]Tough for the consumers to know and understand what is real and what is not...and what is really harmful and should be avoided. Too many different entities involved in testing and setting standards.
I had a personal taste of the vicissitudes of testing and standards. When I lived in Santa Barbara, CA many long years ago I often worked on a friend's swordfish boat during the season when there were broadbills in nearby waters. We did the harpoon and float thing rather than longlining. Tough and dangerous but fun and financially rewarding.
On one trip back in to the dock, after scoring about nine big swordfish in a 3 day trip, we were met at the dock by some federal regulators. They very harshly told us to keep our fish and not to try to sell them anywhere. There had been some testing and the swordfish in local waters were found to be above "safe" levels in mercury. So, we had to dump several hundred pounds of prime swordfish and go without a paycheck. It ultimately cost my friend the loss of his boat.
The rest of the story? About a year later the ban was lifted...or the "safe" levels raised...because testing on some swordfish samples preserved from the 1800's had shown even higher levels of mercury from that time. Since people were not dying or glowing in the dark from eating swordfish it was assumed that it was okay.
Personally, I am happy that there is someone doing the checking. Much better than getting a diagnosis from your doctor that you have something incurable as a result of eating too much of something that you shouldn't have.
Of course that does not always stop people from smoking...even after getting emphysema or lung cancer. And folks who develop cirrhosis of the liver from excess alcohol consumption often continue abusing that stuff until their expiration date. But that's a whole 'nother story.
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[#0000FF]There is not a single definable or easily correctable cause of the mercury contamination. But there are several good/bad possibilities.
Past or present mining operations are always suspect when mercury shows up downstream from the mines. Ditto for the arsenic and other nasty stuff they use in extracting or refining precious metals.
Also, coal-fired power plants and other industries are proven contributors. The residues from coal hit the atmosphere and create the methyl mercury that is the hazardous form of that element.
Most western states and some eastern states have both mining and coal burning operations...and there are mercury problems in most states where one or both occur.
But without continuous (expensive) testing it is tough to point the finger of definite blame. If the guys with a lot of letters behind their names can't figure it out, I won't try either.
Worried? Not me. I have eaten a lot more fish than most folks and I am still in good shape for the shape I am in at my age. If continuing to eat fish kills me in another 10 years...well, I will still be ahead of the game.
Kinda like a favorite uncle on my mother's side of the family. He had been a heavy smoker since his teenage years. In his mid-thirties his doctor told him that if he didn't quit smoking it would kill him. Sure enough, about 50 years later he was hit by a car while lighting a cigarette.
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Yeah I forgot all about mining operations and power plants like you mentioned. Industries and Business are at fault for most of our problems such as pollution, water contamination, and even wasting water. That's a big problem, most of the time all those people care about is getting the money. Pretty much they say screw the inconvenience and mine/do their operations with methods that are the fastest but most harmful to the environment. It's kind of  that although we suspect mercury is getting into water from mining, we probably won't require miners to change how they mine.
I don't freak out about the mercury levels listed for these fish but if anything I'd be scared that we are drinking and using water coming from a place that suggests we hardly ever eat fish from there!
A little off topic, but Regarding water use, next year I suspect it'll be a big adjustment for not only individual home owners, but many businesses in regards to water use. When there is hardly any water left, we'll see if industry and individuals can't change their ways.
Lastly, That's a story about your uncle. It is really ironic that he lived past the age of an average person, let alone a heavy smoker but in the end he died the non traditional way. That'd be like us fishing one day and catching one so big that he pulled us out of the boat and we drowned. [pirate]
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[#0000FF]About the mines...the good news is that today's mining operations are a lot more ecofriendly, with more controls against pollution. The bad news is that the careless and unknowing mining practices of the past will remain with us for generations to come. The water coming out of the mouths of old mines and from the bottoms of ancient tailings piles are often qualified as toxic waste.
Most mining operations today are subject to rigorous controls and frequent inspections. Not perfect, but better than they used to be.
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I want the list of the best waters for the least contaminated fish to seek those waters and not just avoid the top worst
because I want to eat more fish. I caught big fish last year, but I should also switch to targeting and keeping and eating smaller fish and of varieties that concentrate the least of toxic pollutants. Where can I get the full data from the study or talk to the people involved?
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[url "http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/"]http://www.fishadvisories.utah.gov/[/url]
[#0000FF]The web address above will get you to the home page of the Utah Fish Advisories group. Click on Contacts and there will be phone numbers and addresses. [/#0000FF]
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