Sunday, January 02, 2005
PCBs upset plans for fin dining
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The grim label stares out at me coldy, quietly: "SML striper 7-04."
My uneasiness over this pack of frozen fish fillets comes in the wake of recently announced fish consumption advisories issued by the Virginia Department of Health.
Smith Mountain Lake's striper fishery is among the many statewide affected by warnings based on the levels of PCBs found in fish. The advisory also includes anadromous stripers in the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, catfish in Smith Mountain Lake, bass in several rivers and lakes, and many non-game fish. The PCB levels haven't suddenly risen in these fish. The standards have just gotten tighter.
Striped bass, prized both for their sporting qualities and their firm, mild flesh, are at the heart of arguably the most significant advisories, at least in terms of angler impact. Unlike fishermen who target other affected species, such as Smith Mountain Lake's largemouth bass, most anglers who catch stripers keep the fish to eat.
The danger is not immediate, or even a certainty. But scientists know that PCBs build up over time, in fish and in whatever eats those fish. And scientists know that PCBs are a carcinogen. Limiting our intake to no more than two meals per month helps minimize, or perhaps eliminates, any chance of us ingesting enough of the stuff over time to cause cancer.
I tend to think reaction to this will lean toward the extremes.
On one hand you'll have the folks who say, "I've been eating these fish for years and I'm fine, so I'm not going to stop now."
On the other you'll have people who say, "If the fish have PCBs in them, and PCBs are potentially bad for me, why should I risk putting any of it into my body if I don't have to?"
On a personal level, timing of the advisories isn't ideal. One of my pre-New Year's resolutions for 2005 had been to make a better effort to feed our family what I like to call "free-range fish and meat."
My freezer is already stocked with venison, so my plan was to add a bunch of fish over the next few months.
Lake Moomaw's yellow perch remain my first choice, but stripers - from both Smith Mountain Lake and the Chesapeake Bay - were a close second. Both fish are great on the table, but it takes a bunch of half-pound perch to make a meal, while it takes only a few good-sized stripers to fill a lot of meal-sized Food-Saver packages.
I guess I'll be spending more time cleaning fish than I had hoped.
I don't see myself completely eschewing striper, but I'm going to lean toward the cautious side of things.
My reaction, apparently, is pretty normal after an advisory hits. Fishing pressure typically falls off, and harvest usually drops dramatically.
Of course, reduced fishing pressure and harvest typically equate to better fishing.
A good example of that can be found in the North Fork of the Holston River near Saltville. Because of mercury contamination the river's smallmouth bass are completely off limits. That's helped produce a great little trophy bass fishery. Similarly, a consumption advisory on blue catfish has helped create an awesome trophy fishery on the tidal James River.
Reduced striper harvest might help Smith Mountain Lake's striper fishery, which was hit hard by a parasite-related fish kill in 2003 that eliminated most of the lake's trophy stripers. Higher catch-and-release rates may actually help the fishery recover faster.
Most of us fish primarily for recreation, and not food. Still, despite that upside to consumption advisories, it's just not easy to feel good about fishery that's affected by pollution.
Given the choice between having great fishing with consumption advisories, or good fishing and no advisories, I think most of us would opt for the latter every time.
