Eating Erie Eyes

[Airwave(OH)]

This is not being posted for debate Just to inform. I heard this this morning on the news. It is being reported that you should only comsume one Erie walleye per month if it is over 25"'s and only one per week if it is less -due to mercury contaminates. Take it for what it is. It has n't shois hurt me zb dmfk Yet mjslk!

[205]

Wait till you start glowing in the dark!:7

[John]

Might come in handy for night fishing! lol

[tshot]

Sounds like PETA is at it again!

[Sparky]

The last time I read a full report, they don't test a "fillet". It includes basically everything, and I do mean everything. I haven't caught anyone eating a walleye digestive tract yet. Their rational was "We can't determine what parts of the fish will or will not be consumed.". It sounds like a stretch but, it would be more helpful if they listed the procedure used along with the results.

[CarpetBagger]

Wonder why they always get on about eating the walleyes, but never say anything about the perch.

CB

[Western Basin Bob]

Carpetbagger-
I wonder the same thing. Why is it you can eat all the perch you can gorge, but the Walleye have to be numbered? Don't they live in the same body of water and pretty much have the same diet? Go figure!!

[bob oh]

This is what ODNR was reporting as of Sept. 2001:
The Ohio Division of Wildlife (ODW), in cooperation with
the Ohio Department of Health (ODH) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency(OEPA), collect and analyze samples of fish from Ohio’s portion of Lake Erie.
Samples are routinely collected by Fairport and Sandusky
ODW staff, and prepared according to a standard procedure in
either edible portions or whole bodies. The samples are then
frozen and shipped to OEPA for analysis. ODH examines the
results of the tests and determines if restrictions are in
order on the basis of a Great Lakes risk assessment protocol
on the consumption of fish by those most at risk (women of
child bearing age and children). The general trend that has
been seen is that contaminant levels have gone down
considerably since a few decades ago. There are still several
locations and several fish species that warrant special
concern.
Popular fish like yellow perch have no restrictions. Walleye
and smallmouth bass are one meal per week, and white bass
and steelhead (because of their higher fatty oil content)
are one meal per month. Careful preparation and selecting
appropriate cooking methods can also reduce your potential
risk. See the Fish Consumption Advisory Pamphlet for more
information.
Maybe you heard a new advisory, but hard to believe that it
came out since Sept.??? Wonder if anyone is checking our
supermarket fish?, those Lake Erie catfish are going somewhere
and I don't remember any advistories at the supermarket on
ocean fish and many fishing grounds in the oceans are known
to be polluted?? I've been eating Erie fish since 1052 so I
don't think I'll quit now, but something to consider. Don't
think I've ever ate 52 walleye meals in one year LOL

[JMC]

WOW 950 years, thats alot of walleye. :7 :9

[CarpetBagger]

I dunno perch are ##### good eating, so i guess ill just have to save all those 25" or less walleyes and give all the bigger ones away to friends and family...lol

CB

[RickK]

I think the reason that they don't include perch is becuse they are down a rung on the food chain,..so that the small amt in forage fish get built up and up in the bigger fish. When you eat the big fis,. it builds up in you. Some years ago a battery factory was dumping Hg in Japan,..the fish were very high in it and the people that ate them died a slow and horrible death. I know that we are not talking anything nearly that high in Eire,..but no amt of mercury is probably good for you. In these parts we have the same problem with PCBs building up in the big fish,..very high in Northern pike. I have a dumb neighbor that proudly says he doesn't believe in this and takes any big fish home to eat "an he ain't dead yet!!" Of course I wonder that his wife has had just about everything wrong with her as any human can and the kids are not too healthy either,..but HE'S OK (yet) so he feels it "proves" the PCB thing is "bogus",.............

[205]

Maybe somebody ought to tell all them Commercial fishermen about this. Wonder if they have a warning on their fish like on cigarette packs?:7

[luredaddy]

I have fished Erie for the last 40 years, not seriously for the last 20, the water is beautiful and very polluted with heavy metal contaminants. I stopped feeding the fish to my family many years ago. The state made it clear that it was not a good thing for a woman of child bearing age to eat any fish. We ate the Perch up to 10 years ago, I figured they had not been in the water as long as a 4 pound walleye. It is a great place to fish, not to eat!! The state is loosing rvenue by putting out the warnings, there must be a reason. GREAT PLACE FOR CATCH AND RELEASE!!

[HOT-N-TOT]

Why would you eat a 25" or bigger walleye. Thats justs dumb.
My 2 cents.
HOT-N-TOT

[Texeye]

I found this interesting because I have been reading about the mercury levels in Conchas lake New Mexico.If you are interested in the levels and effects of Mercury poison this sight is very interesting.Check out some of the realted links listed.It seems there are a lot of U.S. states and parts of Canada that are seeing this problem.http://www.nmenv.state.nm.us/swqb/Mercury.html#Conchas

[Sluggo / NY]

Hey Hot..What if you only catch em 25" or bigger?;)

[bob oh]

Yeah a long, long time (hehehe) guess I'd better re-read
the posts huh?? Sorry I ment 1952, but old fat fingers
have a mind of their own :-)

[Backwater Eddy]

The fatter and older the fish the higher likelihood of increased contaminant loads.

Knowing how to properly clean fish in suspect waters and prepare them will decrease the dose you will consume, but will not totally guarantee a contaminant free fish.

As a fish ages the contaminant loads will transfer from the fatty tissues to the meat at a higher rate. You increase you health risk expediential as you consume larger fish.

Selective harvest of smaller fish for consumption is not only beneficial to the fish, but also for the consumers of the fish.

Backwater Eddy ~ ~><sUMo> ~ ><>

http://home.talkcity.com/ResortRd/backwtr1/index.html

[bob oh]

Yeah a long, long time (hehehe) guess I'd better re-read
the posts huh?? Sorry I ment 1952, but old fat fingers
have a mind of their own :-)

Sorry about double post ?????

[Thumper]

Ontario OMNR has done a lot of testing of these fish and other waters and have created a guide to eating Ontario Sport Fish. Lake Erie is in the guide for a lot of different areas. Some of the findings are very interesting especially the Mercury in Northern waters. www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/guide/

[Hawgboy]

The same restrictions are here in lake Mich.People still eat salmon, bass, and perch, Last December I got 2 perch tagged, They were 13in.Tagged 6 yrs ago at 8 in. So I figured they were 9 or 10 yrs old. The MERCURY just adds a little flavor.LOL

[Toxie]

Wow, I hope I'm still fishing in 900 years! :)
The saying goes that every day you fish is not subtracted from your life, I guess it's true!! :)

[Water Dog]

Wow , when will someone check all those Vienna sausage's and Budweiser beers we have been consuming ?

Any one who can eat Vienna Sausage's in 3 ft waves , will never have to prove his bravery to me !