oak orchard rumor of being polluted.

[Paul Czarnecki]

"The cleanest fish as far as pollutants is supposedly tuna"

That was before they checked on mercury. Now according to the Sierra Club magazine it is the fish with the highest mercury content,so high that daily consumption of tuna actually causes mercury poisoning.

The DEC has very clear advice concerning the consumption of fish out of Lake Ontario,as does its Canadian counterpart. These 2 agencies are the only ones around that do research to back up their advice. All the other comments here are opinion based.

I will stick to research backed advice.

As long as you're stuck on "research backed advice" look into how the NY and Canadian agencies test for contaminants. While in college I tested fish with the PA Fish Commission and DEC in NY and saw, firsthand, how they are tested. The ENTIRE fish--guts, fat, blood, liver, head and bones-- is ground into a paste and that paste is tested for contaminants.

For years, Charter Captains have asked for a separate study on the "edible" portion of the fish and I believe some tests were done on fillets. I don't have the actual numbers in front of me but I'm pretty sure the contaminant levels were considerably below the alarming numbers they list. In fact, I think an independent Michigan study showed that a fillet of Great Lakes Salmon showed contaminants at levels well below "danger" levels --even in that ultra paranoid state....Californ.....something.

[BSmaster]

Spot on Paul.

Unfortunately, Mercury is in the rain. Compare consumption advisories between PFBC and DEC about Tioga river and Chemung River. Same river system - 2 state agencies. They do not match. There is caffeine in cafeine free cola. Measurement is always a challenge of mankind. However, I do believe in the LD 50.

I joke with my Pennsyltucky friends that they are cleaning Lake O 3 salmon a day.

I eat a tremendous amount of fish. I usually eat my suggested monthly limit about 20 times a month. I started filling icky in the mornings so I quit drinking all alcohol. Now I feel awesome! I wake up (with a rock hard glass cutter) kiss my wife and its a great day

BTW, I ate (2) tuna fish sandwiches 4 days last week. No extra body parts yet. I was on the swim team in HS but I wear a life jacket because I know I will sink to the bottom if I fall in without it. IMO, I think these are tree hugging stats designed to save the blue fin.

Back on topic. Relatively speaking, The Oak is no more contaminated than last year and might even be cleaner. You don't have to eat the fish to enjoy the water. Wait until the smell subsides if it bothers you too much.

[tcon]

I was told when they test the fish they throw them in a grinder from head to tail....and test the results...I would say a good fillet...gets rid of the backbone... trims out the belly fat and shaves the dark meat off and I would like to see the test results from that...my father in law once asked me.."How many people in your life have been touched by cancer from smoking." to wich I replied "a few" and then he asked " How many people do you know that have health problems from eathing fish out of Lake Ontario?" and my reply was "None, Nada, zip." and he ended the conversation with "I rest my case." I'll let you know how my salmon turns out on the grill tonight

Tom