In
the last column we looked at the national and international
situation with mercury in fish. While the whole story has
yet to be told, one important fact is obvious: Eating fish
is good for you. Researchers are finding all kinds of positive
effects from Omega-3 fish oils on the circulatory and nervous
systems, and even on mood, attitude and attention span.
Does
this mean that everyone should ignore the mercury warnings?
Of course not. It is easy enough to keep aware of what places
and species might have higher mercury levels. By eating
different types of seafood and seafood from different places,
you can be confident that your overall intake will be healthy.
The
Advisories in our Area
In and
around the Atchafalaya Basin, we have four advisories: Henderson,
the I-10/Work Canals, Big Alabama Bayou and the Gulf of
Mexico. Each covers a specific area, specific fish species
(and sometimes certain sizes) and specific groups of consumers.
For
instance, the Henderson Lake advisory (www.deq.louisiana.gov/portal/Default.aspx?tabid=287)
states:
“Women
of childbearing age and children less than 7 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.
“Unless
the fish species is specifically addressed in the details
of the advisory, please limit consumption of all species
in an advisory area to FOUR MEALS PER MONTH.”
Each
advisory will be different, based on the mercury concentrations
found in repeated samplings. In the I-10/Work Canal area,
the advisory is for largemouth bass, black crappie and choupique.
Across the state, choupique (bowfin) is listed most often
in advisories, followed by largemouth bass, freshwater drum
(gaspergou), sac-au-lait, catfish, buffalo and bream.
The
Gulf advisory addresses species and sizes of one species:
“Women of childbearing age and children less than
7 years of age SHOULD NOT CONSUME KING MACKEREL and should
consume no more than ONE MEAL PER MONTH of cobia, blackfin
tuna and greater amberjack combined from the advisory area.
“Other
adults and children 7 years of age and older SHOULD NOT
CONSUME KING MACKEREL GREATER THAN 39 INCHES IN TOTAL LENGTH
and should consume no more than TWO MEALS PER MONTH of king
mackerel 39 inches or less in total length and no more than
FOUR MEALS PER MONTH of cobia, blackfin tuna and greater
amberjack combined from the advisory area.
“Unless
the fish species is specifically addressed in the details
of the advisory, please limit consumption of all species
in an advisory area to FOUR MEALS PER MONTH.”
Most
Waters Don’t Have Advisories
Visit
to the Department of Environmental Quality Web site (listed
above: go to Mercury Initiative and then Mercury Study Raw
Data) to get information about other waters that you fish.
Sampling has been conducted all over the state, and most
places do not need advisories. For instance, in Lake Fausse
Pointe, the overall average mercury concentration in fish
was 0.314 ppm, which for all species was below the “action
level” of 0.5 ppm. In fish from one of the Basin sites
(Beau Bayou) the average level was very low: 0.08 ppm. Fish
from Lake Verret at Attakapas Landing were intermediate:
0.237 ppm.
Mix
It Up!
The
best advice is for people to consume seafood from a variety
of sources. Some local seafood has very low mercury concentrations,
such as crawfish, shrimp and oysters. And generally, the
coldwater species that are readily available (such as salmon)
are also consistently low in mercury concentration while
being high in those desirable Omega-3 oils.
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