Eating Salmon from Lake O.

[MWOLF451]

My wife is old school and believes that the fish in lake O are all contaminated with mercury. I am of the opinion that that is no longer an issue. Your thoughts.

[Yankee Troller]

You are fine to eat fish from Ontario. Any Mercury is located in the stomach lining from what we are told, and that doesn't get eaten. Trust me, if it wasn't healthy for you we'd have a lot of dead Pennsylvanians! When they did some testing on contaminants in the fish they ground up the whole fish and tested it. You don't eat the whole fish!

[Gill-T]

Fillet your fish. Remove belly meat and the lateral line. Don't eat long-lived fish like Lake Trout, Large Brown Trout or warm-water species like carp or catfish. Take the mentioned precautions and there is no difference between the fish you eat out of Lake O and fish coming from the ocean.

[Popeye]

Only experienced a little hair loss. other than that good stuff!

[Yankee Troller]

Only experienced a little hair loss. other than that good stuff!

[Epic Sportfishing]

You are fine to eat fish from Ontario. Any Mercury is located in the stomach lining from what we are told, and that doesn't get eaten. Trust me, if it wasn't healthy for you we'd have a lot of dead Pennsylvanians! When they did some testing on contaminants in the fish they ground up the whole fish and tested it. You don't eat the whole fish!

I was always under the impression that DEC tested the fillet of the salmon and MNR ground up the whole fish. I haven't looked in a while but the US side in the past has always had a higher consumption rate than the North shore. A buddy of mine had the Toronto zoo pick-up all the salmon from the Tightline Tourney last year and they were doing a independent study on the fish.

[BSmaster]

If you are done bearing children, eat the fish without worrying at all.  The LD 50 of adults is higher than that of children but even with kids, I think benefits far outweigh the risks.  Babies, I don't know.  My kids don't eat fish yet so I never had to cross that bridge.  LO has deep lake cycle which keeps polutants in the lake instead of flushing them out SL seaway.  Erie, however, is shallow and most of its problems were cleaned up fairly quickly.  A lot of this "don't eat the fish" happened when I was in college (91).  I respected my Fish Bio Prof (Wrote a lot about it), but I still ate the salmon and trout from lake O and other than cancer and a full hip replacement, I am perfectly fine.  Well, I do have plantars fascitis, but that could be from the lead paint that was peeling off in the dairy barn.

 

I don't eat fish that live in or near the genny and less because of Rochester and more because of the vast amount of farm land the river transverses.  The turbidity is quite high which is a sign of high agriculture.  With that comes pesticides and others like fertilizers.

[Misty IV]

I ate about 10 salmon fillets we caught last year and they were some of the best tasting salmon I've had in years. No health issues for me or anyone that ate the fillets.

[Sk8man]

I figured maybe I'd save on light bulbs by eating some but but the dim glow of the low voltage in my brain is all I've seen

[fishfighter]

This is from The NY Department of health.

 

Here is the link:

 

http://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/outdoors/fish/health_advisories/docs/advisory_booklet.pdf

 

 

 

Lake Ontario

 

Whole lake

 

Channel catfish, carp, lake trout

over 25†and brown trout over

20â€

Don't eat

PCBs, Mirex,

Dioxin

 

Whole lake

 

Chinook salmon, rainbow trout,

white sucker, smaller lake trout,

smaller brown trout and coho

salmon over 25â€

Eat up to one meal a

month

PCBs, Mirex,

Dioxin

 

West of Point Breeze

White perch

 

Don't eat

PCBs, Mirex,

Dioxin

 

East of Point Breeze

White perch

Eat up to one meal a

month

PCBs, Mirex,

Dioxin

 

So, it looks like NY health department states one(1) meal a month is OK

 

Not OK is any fish from 18 mile creek.

 

Eighteen Mile Creek  (Niagara) All species Don't eat PCBs

 

 You can now look her straight in the face and say no problem with Mercury.

 

Here is some good info on the subject.

 

Health effects in humans

 

Dioxins build up primarily in fatty tissues over time (bioaccumulate), so even small exposures may eventually reach dangerous levels. In 1994, the US EPA reported that dioxins are a probable carcinogen, but noted that non-cancer effects (reproduction and sexual development, immune system) may pose a greater threat to human health. TCDD, the most toxic of the dibenzodioxins, is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). TCDD has a half-life of approximately 8 years in humans, although at high concentrations, the elimination rate is enhanced by metabolism.^[28] The health effects of dioxins are mediated by their action on a cellular receptor, the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR).^[29]

Exposure to high levels of dioxins in humans causes a severe form of persistent acne, known as chloracne.^[30] High occupational or accidental levels of exposures to dioxins have been shown by epidemiological studies to lead to an increased risk of tumors at all sites.^[31] Other effects in humans (at high dose levels) may include:

• Developmental abnormalities in the enamel of children's teeth.^[32][33]

• Central and peripheral nervous system pathology^[34]

• Thyroid disorders^[35]

• Damage to the immune systems^[36]

• Endometriosis^[37]

• Diabetes^[38]

Recent studies have shown that high exposure to dioxins changes the ratio of male to female births among a population such that more females are born than males.^[39]

Dioxins accumulate in food chains in a fashion similar to other chlorinated compounds (bioaccumulation). This means that even small concentrations in contaminated water can be concentrated up a food chain to dangerous levels because of the long biological half life and low water solubility of dioxins.

 

The same type of problems occur with Mirex and PCB exposure. The thing to keep in mind is the cumlative effect of the exposure. A meal  a month a couple times a year is probably no problem. Having it a couple times a month most of the year could have some health effects down the road. The problem is when someone you know or are close too developes say diabetes or cancer,whose to say what caused it. So, when you hear uncle Harry got cancer and he has been fishing Lake Ontario for 30 years and loves his smoked salmon,it does kinda makes you think a little.

Edited April 4, 2013 by fishfighter

[momay4000]

The problem in this situation is you won't know what the long term effects are from eating the fish unless you have some sort of controlled clinical trial which looks at medical outcomes (i.e. compare the health of 1000 people who didn't eat salmon from Lake O. vs. 1000 people who eat salmon more than once a week) and not just what the concentration of pollutants are.

 

Who cares what the levels of PCB's, mercury, etc are after they grind up fish and take measurements. What really matters is how many people will get some sort of medical problem from eating the fish.

 

Since the long term health consequences (such as lymphomas, leukemias, nerve problems, stomach or bone cancers) of eating heavy metals, PCP's, etc aren't seen for many years if not decades, later how could somebody conclude how many fish should/could be consumed?

 

My conclusion is everything has a danger when taken to extreme. I think you can feel safe by eating the smaller fish, avoiding the organs and belly meat, and avoiding the bottom dwellers like stated above. As a doctor, do I feel comfortable eating salmon that I clean about once a week during the fishing season? You bet I do.

 

Cheers and good luck on the water,

 

- Chris

[Tim Bromund]

Keep in mind that the DEC and NYSDOH recommendations are Pure CYA statements, and also I would suggest that the "No fish from 18 Mile Creek" would be in reference to resident fish that live in the creek, not migrant fish that spend a short time there and head back to the lake.

 

Tim

Edited April 4, 2013 by Tim Bromund

[magic7777]

Spot on Tim

[TyeeTanic]

If they are 14" and under they are great to eat. Mercury is a problem in all the Great Lakes. But your body has a tolerance for mercury as long as you don't eat tons of salmon. By the way the salmon in the grocery store is probably a lot worse for you. Look up farmed salmon health on a google search.

[143447]

Ate tons of smoked salmon back in the 80's from lake O...still kickin here

[MWOLF451]

Thanks everyone for the great feed back. I think I will fillet one without her knowledge and make it like I do the store bought ones, I am sure that she won't know the difference. See you on the water.

[rolmops]

Thanks everyone for the great feed back. I think I will fillet one without her knowledge and make it like I do the store bought ones, I am sure that she won't know the difference. See you on the water.

Only Cohos have the nice pink store bought colors.

[MCF]

I think it falls under the category of if you are not eating it everyday, it should be fine.

I look at all the grape vineyards around here that go from full foliage to looking like winter when they spray the grapes in June and that doesn't stop anyone from buying grape juice or drinking a lot of wine for example.

[Jolly II]

As a doctor, do I feel comfortable eating salmon that I clean about once a week during the fishing season? You bet I do.

 

Cheers and good luck on the water,

 

- Chris

Chris,  It's great to hear a positive comment about this subject from a doctor. 

 

At least with eating some of the fish we catch, we are not exposing ourselves to other things like, E-coli, salmonella, and any of the Hepatitus viruses.  Plus you have to consider the health benefits of eating fish, even from Lake Ontario, like Omega 3.

[Erskin]

I know people who smoked and died as a result of lung cancer.  I don't know anyone who died from eating fresh wild fish.  What do think are in those pellets at the fish farm from farm raised fish.  Or the beef that is loaded with steroids so they can grow faster and be sold quicker.Be more concerned about the food we buy in the grocery stores and fast food chains.  If you have ever picked fresh strawberrys, you see in a couple of days how they start to look old.  Why is it that?  You can buy strawberrys at certain stores and put them in the fridge and two weeks later they still look fresh? They are treated with who knows what.  The next time you go to McDonalds buy a small bag of french fries.  Bring it home, place it in see through a container and check it out a month or two later.  They will still look the same.  That's not normal.  They should have started to decompose after a week but they are treated with something.  Just like the fruit and vegetables we buy in the winter time that come from Peru, Chili and any of the other countries that do not have FDA regulations like we do in the US.   Me, I'll stick to salmon, perch, walleyes, bluegills, venison, rabbits, squirrels and chicken once in a while.  And if you have a spot in your yard, plant yourself a garden for the summer and fall so you and your family know what you are eating.  If you have small kids, thay have a ton of fun planting seeds and watching things grow that they planted.  They don't have such a hard time eating their veggies when they take pride in something they grew.  I know from experience.   Sorry for drifting away from the original question, I got carried away.

[lost a lure]

I know people who smoked and did not die from lung cancer. Eat what you want.

I know people who smoked and died as a result of lung cancer.  I don't know anyone who died from eating fresh wild fish.  What do think are in those pellets at the fish farm from farm raised fish.  Or the beef that is loaded with steroids so they can grow faster and be sold quicker.Be more concerned about the food we buy in the grocery stores and fast food chains.  If you have ever picked fresh strawberrys, you see in a couple of days how they start to look old.  Why is it that?  You can buy strawberrys at certain stores and put them in the fridge and two weeks later they still look fresh? They are treated with who knows what.  The next time you go to McDonalds buy a small bag of french fries.  Bring it home, place it in see through a container and check it out a month or two later.  They will still look the same.  That's not normal.  They should have started to decompose after a week but they are treated with something.  Just like the fruit and vegetables we buy in the winter time that come from Peru, Chili and any of the other countries that do not have FDA regulations like we do in the US.   Me, I'll stick to salmon, perch, walleyes, bluegills, venison, rabbits, squirrels and chicken once in a while.  And if you have a spot in your yard, plant yourself a garden for the summer and fall so you and your family know what you are eating.  If you have small kids, thay have a ton of fun planting seeds and watching things grow that they planted.  They don't have such a hard time eating their veggies when they take pride in something they grew.  I know from experience.   Sorry for drifting away from the original question, I got carried away.

[tlox]

My wife was dead set against eating anything I catch.  I took some walleye last year in the Niagara river, filleted them, and brought them home.  Did them up on the grill, told her it was tilapia, she ate it and raved how delicious it was.  Afterwards I told her what she ate.... I slept on the couch that night but she realized its delicious and won't hurt you.

Edited April 11, 2013 by tlox

[Capt Vince Pierleoni]

If she knew how they farm raise tilapia, she'd be out there with you catching 'em for the grill.

[ray koziatek]

I enjoy my 3rd arm and the back hair might qualify me for the 1 million reward for bigfoot capture tho they will be dissapointed to find out bigfoot is more of a pigmy size critter... if your wife is concerned about her food have her look up ...GMO 's yup that PBJ sandwitch might not be as safe as you think..proper care and cleaning will get ya some tasty eating, tho sometimes i find myself tearing all my clothes off and fishing in the nude...so proper eyecare should be used if ya troll past PEGASUS on the water.....

[Kuba]

I preffer eating fish from the big O than rather buying a fish in the store to find a small "made in china" sticker