Hurricanes
Katrina and Rita were devastating to coastal Louisiana,
and the effects will be long-reaching for fisheries. The
Louisiana Department and Wildlife and Fisheries' preliminary
estimates for storm-related fisheries' losses at the retail
level could exceed $2 billion over the next year.
The
latest estimates combine $981 million in production losses
for parishes affected by Hurricane Rita with the $1.29 billion
losses projected for areas damaged by Hurricane Katrina
for a total of $2.27 billion. That number represents 80
percent of the total commercial and recreational retail
harvest values in 2003.
In addition,
news stories across the nation have reported stormwater
contamination of coastal waters that could affect seafood.
This has caused concern for consumers that may cause them
to reduce seafood consumption unnecessarily. In fact, the
only significant problem identified to date has been higher
than usual levels of bacteria. But this is expected whenever
storm runoff occurs.
Bacteria
(and associated viruses) are a concern for oysters because
they are filter-feeders that concentrate water-borne particles
and because oysters are often consumed raw. A spike in bacteria
in the water will not change the food quality of any seafood
that is cooked.
Monitoring
of oyster-producing waters is a continuous process. The
Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) must
certify that waters are clean enough that oysters growing
in them are safe to consume uncooked. For that reason, no
oystering is allowed unless waters have been tested and
found safe. After any storm, all waters must be tested.
DHH
facilities were damaged by the recent hurricanes, so samples
had to be sent to nearby U.S. Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) labs. Many oystering areas are now certified as acceptable.
On Saturday, Oct. 22, the DHH opened the private oyster
grounds east of the Mississippi River, including:
-
Area 1, which is better known as Lake Borgne
- Area
5, which includes Lake Machias, Lake Calebasse, Lake Fortuna
-
Area 6, which includes Lake Campo
-
Area 7, which includes Bay Crabe, American Bay, and Bay
Gardene.
Private
oyster leases west of Bayou Lafourche in Lafourche Parish
are also open for harvest, as are all of the beds in Terrebonne
Parish. The public oyster bed in Sister Lake in south Terrebonne
Parish is also open.
State
and federal biologists are still checking for possible contamination
across the state. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) research vessel is working off the coasts of Louisiana,
Mississippi and Alabama to study the effects of the hurricanes
on marine resources and the ecosystem. Biologists will take
water samples and examine sediments in the Mississippi River
and test fish and shrimp for evidence of toxic contamination
and pathogens that might affect human health.
Unfortunately,
any news about contamination seems to make people leery
of all seafood. The result is an overall reduction in seafood
consumption. Recent studies have shown that the benefits
of eating seafood generally far outweigh the risks.
In 2004,
the FDA and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued
a series of warnings about mercury in seafood. Those warnings
emphasized that most adults don't have to worry about limiting
their fish intake, but women of child-bearing age should
keep away from high mercury species and limit total fish
intake to about two meals a week. But recently a University
of Maryland Center for Food, Nutrition and Agriculture Policy
survey showed that people didn't understand the warnings.
Forty-five percent of the 1,040 people surveyed thought
the mercury advisory applied to the elderly; 35 percent
said it was for pre-teens and teenagers and nearly one-third
said it applied to all Americans.
If all
adults misinterpreted the warning and decreased their fish
intake by one-sixth, heart disease and stroke risk would
rise. For example, among 65- to 74-year-old men, the mortality
risk would increase by nearly 1 in 10,000 per year.
A study
cited by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis found that
"any fish consumption confers substantial relative
risk reduction compared to no fish consumption, with the
possibility that additional consumption confers incremental
benefits." They also presented work on coronary heart
disease showing "that consuming small quantities of
fish is associated with a 17 percent reduction in heart
disease mortality risk, with each additional serving per
week associated with a further reduction in this risk of
3.9 percent."
This
work solidly backed the 2005 dietary guidelines recommendations
that Americans should consume at least two servings of fish
or seafood per week. The guidelines specifically mention
the tremendous health benefits from the omega-3 fatty acids
in fish and seafood. Even for pregnant women, the study
found that the risks of not eating seafood were higher than
the risks of eating seafood, and the study affirmed the
current guideline for pregnant women to eat 12 oz of fish
that is low in mercury per week.
Does
this mean we should ignore all seafood contamination issues?
Of course not, but consumers should try to stay informed
of the facts about seafood consumption.
Recreational
fishermen need to be aware of the testing that the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) conducts on fish
across the state: visit http://www.deq.state.la.us/surveillance/mercury/fishadvi.htm
for details. LDEQ has issued some 47 consumption advisories
for different Louisiana waters. For example, the warning
for Henderson Lake is for certain fish species and consumer
groups:
“Women
of childbearing age and children less than seven years
of age should consume no more than ONE MEAL PER MONTH
of largemouth bass, crappie or freshwater drum combined
from the advisory area. Other adults and children seven
years of age and older should consume no more than FOUR
MEALS PER MONTH of largemouth bass, crappie, or freshwater
drum combined from the advisory area.”
Consumers
need to be aware of the benefits and risks of seafood consumption.
Check with LDEQ about the waters and fish species that you
consume regularly. It is always a good idea to “mix
it up” – to eat different types of seafood from
a number of different places. Try to have seafood taken
from freshwater and saltwater sources and from warmwater
and coldwater places as well. Then, don’t worry –
enjoy!
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