Don't eat the fish!

kmudgn

Life of the Party
I am a big fan of C&R, but I have no objection to cooking a few brook trout for breakfast on streamside. That being said, based on the info in the article I will have to rethink

 
I am a big fan of C&R, but I have no objection to cooking a few brook trout for breakfast on streamside. That being said, based on the info in the article I will have to rethink

Probably kick up as much forever chemicals just walking across your yard.
 
I am a big fan of C&R, but I have no objection to cooking a few brook trout for breakfast on streamside. That being said, based on the info in the article I will have to rethink

And those “scientists” have hemmed n hawed on eggs, coffee, wine… for many years. Just depends on the “agenda n lobbyist” campaigns in vogue at the time. 😉
 
PFAS bioaccumulate, so a bigger, older, predatory fish will have much higher levels of PFAS (and other bioaccumulative persistent toxics) than younger, smaller fish that feed lower on the food chain. A big old bass would be much more toxic than a pan of 6-8" brookies.
 
The words "certain communities" made me wonder about several lakes I fish each year that are high elevation and have no agriculture or industrial areas above them and have wild populations of brookies. Safe to eat a couple? I would think so as it's hard to imagine how these chemicals can reach these waters. I'm into C&R as well but have killed two or three for a meal and will probably continue. I like these fish. But these lakes also receive plants of hatchery stock. Could this be a source of pollution? Hope not cuz I've killed a few of them too.
 
I would think so as it's hard to imagine how these chemicals can reach these waters
It's always a little depressing when you hear how easily some pollution can travel.

That said, I'd sure be more likely to eat a brookie from a high mountain lake than a bluegill from some of the lowland ponds I fish.
 
I am a big fan of C&R, but I have no objection to cooking a few brook trout for breakfast on streamside. That being said, based on the info in the article I will have to rethink

Eating it anyway. I am sure it's still healthier than the crap put our by the American food industry and the Standard American Diet aka SAD.
 
Eating it anyway. I am sure it's still healthier than the crap put our by the American food industry and the Standard American Diet aka SAD.
It occurred to me that I've been eating fish for at least 80 years. My physician detected an irregular heart beat last fall and referred me to a cardiologist who said my EKG was just fine and if I want I could see him in one or two years. In all that time I've eaten every kind of fish known to man, carp excepted. In 08 in New Orleans I ate 7 kinds of fish like Pompano, grouper and every kind of new taste I could find. Gator on a stick and about 6 dozen gulf oysters included. Catfish out of Laurelhurst Park in Portland, smelt , perch, bullheads, you name it. Every kind of trout salmon and steelhead and sturgeon. If I find a new kind of fish I'm sure I'll eat that too. Columbia river walleye makes great table fare. I'm sure I've missed some species but you get what I'm saying. Fish for dinner. Yum.
 
It occurred to me that I've been eating fish for at least 80 years. My physician detected an irregular heart beat last fall and referred me to a cardiologist who said my EKG was just fine and if I want I could see him in one or two years. In all that time I've eaten every kind of fish known to man, carp excepted. In 08 in New Orleans I ate 7 kinds of fish like Pompano, grouper and every kind of new taste I could find. Gator on a stick and about 6 dozen gulf oysters included. Catfish out of Laurelhurst Park in Portland, smelt , perch, bullheads, you name it. Every kind of trout salmon and steelhead and sturgeon. If I find a new kind of fish I'm sure I'll eat that too. Columbia river walleye makes great table fare. I'm sure I've missed some species but you get what I'm saying. Fish for dinner. Yum.
Haha...there was a time when I was a teenager on Molokai and ate so much fish I would trade lobsters for hotdogs & beer...
 
Haha...there was a time when I was a teenager on Molokai and ate so much fish I would trade lobsters for hotdogs & beer...
That's where I enjoyed Ahi and Ono. There's a pub north of here next to a seafood market that has Ono on the menu and I ordered that saying how much I enjoyed it in Hawaii. The server says most people never heard of it. I need to go back.
 
Was just discussing this report with my wife. She, of course, has now removed freshwater fish from her diet. My take is at 71 already with heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and recently diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, I'll take my chances with eating the next walleye I catch. I probably won't live long enough to be impacted by PFAS. On the other hand, my mother passed in October a week before her 95th birthday.

Edit: My comment above was prior to reading the article, which I just finished. As is my habit, I wanted to "do the math" and look at this as critically as possible without reading the actual study. First, I think there is some sensationalism here due to gaps in the information. Before coming to the conclusion that no one should be eating freshwater fish, there needs to be a lot more detail as to geography, actual fish consumption across the population, and blood testing on people eating said fish. If my math is correct, the study found PFAS levels in freshwater fish outside (where exactly?) the Great Lakes at 9,500 ng/Kg and somewhere around 14,000 ng/Kg in the Great Lakes. This would equate to 9,500 parts per trillion (ppt) or 9.5 parts per billion (ppb) (Please check my math). Then they state this is equivalent to drinking water contaminated with 48 ppt everyday for a month. However, there is no discussion on what that means in terms of health threats. I suppose I should read the study, though it is unlikely I will have the patience for that. Until I can fill in the blanks here I am not inclined to panic.
 
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My uncle at 82 has consumed fish his entire life.
He smokes 2+ packs a day and drinks about 12-16 Rainier beers.

He just stopped skiing last year, due to bad knees. He will probably live to 103....like his mother.

Life is short....do what ya want...then do it again.
 
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To build on what Steve Vaughn above said, one needs to be REALLY, REALY leery and consider the sources of the information. This kind of stuff is quite subject to hype and biased reporting. I'm not saying this report is good or bad just cautioning the reader.
 
Aerial deposition provides effective transport into pristine waters for PFAS just as it does for PCB's. Both are resilient ('refractory' in organic chemist lingo) bioaccumulative toxics.

Part of the issue is that we couldn't measure either down into the parts per trillion (or quadrillion) range until relatively recently. We still create tons of new organic chemicals and release them into the environment with no idea about their eventual fate and effect. Complicated problem.

That being said...the problem is so pervasive there's likely no technical or economically feasible solution.

We're all on the road to nowhere, whether we like it or not.

As my Big Mouth Billy Bass frequently sings "Don't worry! Be happy!"
 
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