A top state health official said the advisories could be dramatically loosened "if levels continue to progress as they have". Yet for now, state officials say the Lake Ontario fishing advisories — which recommend no more than one meal a month of many species, and no meals at all for children or women who may become pregnant — will remain as they are.
As a new study by researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates afresh, the lack of adherence is particularly acute among people who tend to eat the most lake fish. Only one-third of people who said they eat locally caught fish regularly knew the government had issued health advisories, researchers found in a survey, and fewer than one in 20 fish consumers were able to correctly answer a battery of health-related questions about their fare.
The advisory tables do not contain all types of fish at that location, only those that have been tested for contaminants. Advisories are provided only for the size ranges of fish that were tested. Since it is well known that contaminant levels generally increase with fish length, the following rules can be applied:.
If you have any questions about how to determine the amount of fish that is safe to consume, contact the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program at , or fishguide ontario.
American Eel - Recreational fishing for American Eel is prohibited as the species is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. If you catch an American Eel, you must release it, but you can help determine where they currently are in Ontario. Lake Sturgeon — Recreational fishing for Lake Sturgeon is prohibited in areas where populations are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act.
Catch and release of Lake Sturgeon is still permitted in areas where populations are not identified as threatened. If you catch a Lake Sturgeon, you must release it, but you can help determine where they currently are in Ontario. Muskellunge — To maintain healthy Muskellunge populations, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry encourages catch and release of this species as it cannot handle the pressures of heavy fishing. They will also likely have elevated levels of mercury and should not be consumed by anyone.
A number of anglers fish for the thrill of the catch, and release their fish to allow them to be caught again. If you decide to keep and eat your catch, chill freshly caught fish on ice or in a refrigerator as soon as possible to avoid spoilage. Clean, dress and refrigerate or preserve the fish at the earliest opportunity. Toxins such as polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides and dioxins concentrate to the highest levels in fish with fatty flesh such as Salmon, Trout, Carp and Catfish.
Before cooking, remove the skin, trim off the fatty areas and discard the flesh around the belly area. You can further reduce contaminants by allowing fat to drip away during cooking e. If you deep fry fish, do not re-use the oil. NOTE: Toxins such as mercury and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, are evenly distributed in fish flesh so there is nothing you can do to reduce or remove them. Remove fillet. Remove skin and fat along the side and belly. Cook on a rack or grill to let fat drip away.
Ontario is not unique in having consumption restrictions on fish. Most jurisdictions in North America also have them. The contaminants found in fish can come from local sources and from sources thousands of kilometers away. Airborne contaminants can travel long distances in the atmosphere, and return to the earth in rain and snowfall.
Mercury, polychlorinated biphenyls and toxaphene are a few of the contaminants that are known to be transported long distances and can cause low-level contamination even in isolated lakes and rivers. For more information on these substances, please contact the Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program at , Toll-free: or fishguide ontario.
For information on health implications of these substances, please visit Health Canada or contact Toll-free: Eggs can have elevated levels of organic contaminants because of their higher fat content. It is recommended that you avoid eating eggs from fatty fish species, from the Great Lakes.
Clams are filter feeders and are usually low in contaminants, but you should avoid eating them as they can contain harmful bacteria and other pathogens. Snapping turtles may have high levels of contaminants in their fat, liver, eggs and, to a lesser extent, muscle. If eating snapping turtle, trim away fat prior to cooking the meat or preparing soup.
Also, avoid eating the liver and eggs of the turtle. Women of child-bearing age and children under 15 should avoid eating any part of snapping turtles, including soups made with their meat. Fish can sometimes have worms, grubs and cysts in their flesh, around the intestines, or on the skin, fins or gills.
These parasites are a normal part of the ecosystem and the edible portions containing parasites do not present a health hazard if properly cooked.
Occasionally, you may catch a fish with external growths, tumours, sores or other lesions. These generally result from viral or bacterial infections. In general, there are no significant differences in contaminant levels of fish with or without tumors from the same water body.
While the appearance of viral or bacterial infections in fish is unsightly, there is no known health risk from consuming an infected fish that meets the consumption advisories as long as they are prepared properly. As a general precaution, avoid eating fish that appear to be sick, dying or dead when caught. Andy Todd, from the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, noted at this point there's no evidence of steelhead dying in tributaries on the Canadian side.
Todd and others at the meeting offered no explanations for that, noting the issue will continue to be studied. Relaxed advisories concerning eating fish: Due to an overall decrease in contamination levels, the state Department of health recently announced it was relaxing some of its advisories as far as eating certain fish from Lake Ontario and its tributaries. The new guidelines say it's OK to eat up to four meals a month of chinook salmon, coho salmon, rainbow trout, and for smaller brown trout and lake trout.
Also, it's fine to eat four meals a month of smallmouth bass from the Niagara River downstream from Niagara Falls. The old guidelines for these specific species were one meal per month. See the state Health Department website for more guidelines on eating fish from the lake.
Michael Juskow, of Pennellville, holds up a New fishing regulations : Beginning April 1, the following regulations will take effect: the minimum size limit to keep a muskie in Lake Ontario, the St. Angler survey program update: Interviews with anglers along the mile stretch of the southern shore between April 15 and Sept.
The catch rate for chinook salmon, according to DEC aquatic biologist Jana Lantry, varied throughout the season, depending on "when and where" one was fishing. It looks much like your average catfish and has a square tail. It grows between centimetres long. According to consumption guidelines, both the general and sensitive populations of people can eat up to 32 meals of Brown Bullhead cm per month, making it one of the safest fish to consume in the Toronto Harbour.
The Largemouth Bass is another native species to Ontario, thriving in weedy, warm waters. They grow up to 55 centimetres long and have dorsal back spines. The recommended consumption for largemouth bass is up to 32 meals per month cm for the general population and up to 16 meals per month cm for sensitive populations. Yellow Perch is a cold-water fish that is native to Ontario. It grows from centimetres and has dark bands along its yellow body. The consumption guideline for Yellow Perch is up to 32 meals per month cm for the general population and up to 16 per month cm for sensitive populations.
The Coho Salmon is a cold-water species that is non-native and was introduced to the Great Lakes from the north Pacific Ocean. These fish have a blue-green back and silvery sides with a deep body. They grow from centimetres. The consumption guide recommends that you do not eat any Coho Salmon that you catch.
Mercury and other toxins can build up in the fatty tissue of these salmon, making it hard to avoid ingesting the metal. Gizzard Shad can grow between 20 and 45 centimetres and are silver. They have a distinctive long streaming dorsal back fin. It is recommended to not eat any size of Gizzard Shad caught in the Harbour due to high levels of toxic chemicals.
White Bass are native to the Great Lakes that live in warm-waters. They have dorsal spines and white-ish scales disrupted by irregular dark spots.
0コメント