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Started By
Message
Louisiana DEQ online map: Don't eat fish caught here, don't swim there
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:10 am
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:10 am
quote:
A recently created interactive map lets people know if pollution has made a Louisiana waterway unsafe for swimming, and tells anglers whether it's safe to eat their catch.
The map shows 58 lakes, bayous and other waterways where contaminated fish have been caught, the bottom is too polluted for safe swimming, or both. Most restrict fish or shellfish eating; two also warn against swimming. Two others warn only against swimming.
Link to News Article
Link to Map
4
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:14 am to WPBTiger
Not to sound like a dumbass, but why are y'alls mercury levels so damn high?
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:18 am to bamarep
Spoke with a fish biologist about ten years ago that said they just throw the fish in a blender and then test it, meaning what they test includes guts, skin, etc. I expect it’s the same today. Really wish they would test clean fish and test the part we actually consume.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:22 am to TimeOutdoors
But how did the levels get so high?
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:31 am to bamarep
Around 2000 I was part of a group in college that tested for heavy metals in redfish; mercury, cadmium, arsenic, etc. Most samples had Mercury at watch levels and a few at warning levels. We sent all the data and our report to LA DEQ. Nice to see they are finally doing something like this.
Simple answer is Louisiana had/has so many superfund sites that were not cleaned up well and Mercury used to be part of all sorts of chemical reactions. When released it settles then filter and bottom feeders uptake the heavy metal. That's how it enters the food chain. Mercury bioaccumulates meaning it builds up instead of being released as it makes it way up the food chain. That can be a problem for us since we are at the top.
Simple answer is Louisiana had/has so many superfund sites that were not cleaned up well and Mercury used to be part of all sorts of chemical reactions. When released it settles then filter and bottom feeders uptake the heavy metal. That's how it enters the food chain. Mercury bioaccumulates meaning it builds up instead of being released as it makes it way up the food chain. That can be a problem for us since we are at the top.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:32 am to bamarep
quote:
Not to sound like a dumbass, but why are y'alls mercury levels so damn high?
Probably because half the country’s industry drains through the Mississippi.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:33 am to TimeOutdoors
quote:
Really wish they would test clean fish and test the part we actually consume.
That is what we did. Tested the meat not the whole fish.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:42 am to TheLSUriot
The list has been out there, some of these places had warning in the 90s.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:43 am to TheLSUriot
quote:
That is what we did. Tested the meat not the whole fish.
Same here. I collected hundreds of fish samples during grad school. Always tested the fillet.
Side note, picking hardhead & gafftop out of a gill net in July/August is fricking miserable.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:44 am to bamarep
quote:
ot to sound like a dumbass, but why are y'alls mercury levels so damn high?
I know OK and Tx have similar problems
Some of the Mercury is naturally occurring - does your state test and publish?
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:48 am to choupiquesushi
I have no idea but I intend to research and find out.
I did have a guy tell me this is why they won't let you fish in old gravel pits.
I did have a guy tell me this is why they won't let you fish in old gravel pits.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 9:51 am to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:
Probably because half the country’s industry drains through the Mississippi.
It was hard for me to believe but the Mississippi River is actually comparatively clean.
Just from the map I don't see any "live" oxbow lakes that are connected to the river being listed. And there are tons of oxbow lake that get river water every year.
...
Toledo B surprised me being on the list:
quote:
The Toledo Bend Reservoir Advisory Type: Advisory for Fish Consumption: Mercury Date: Issued: 11/17/1997; Revised: 07/19/2001 and 05/29/2003 Parishes: Sabine, De Soto Subsegments: LA110101_00 Area Affected:
The entire Louisiana side of the Toledo Bend Reservoir (165,486 acres) Recommendations: Women of childbearing age and children less than seven years of age SHOULD NOT CONSUME BOWFIN (choupique, grinnel) and should consume no more than ONE MEAL PER MONTH of largemouth bass or freshwater drum combined from the advisory area.
Other adults and children seven years of age and older should consume no more than TWO MEALS PER MONTH of bowfin (choupique, grinnel) and no more than FOUR MEALS PER MONTH of largemouth bass or freshwater drum combined from the advisory area.
Unless the fish species is specifically addressed in the details of the advisory, please limit consumption of all species in an advisory area to FOUR MEALS PER MONTH.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:10 am to bamarep
Particulate and vapor emissions from manufacturing/refining is the simple answer.
Mercury is naturally occurring and is a contaminant in many of the processes.
Mercury is naturally occurring and is a contaminant in many of the processes.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:32 am to Chuker
quote:and the miss river feeds very few of the water bodies on the list... the river is significantly cleaner than most water bodies... muddy but cleaner
quote:
Probably because half the country’s industry drains through the Mississippi.
It was hard for me to believe but the Mississippi River is actually comparatively clean.
Just from the map I don't see any "live" oxbow lakes that are connected to the river being listed. And there are tons of oxbow lake that get river water every year.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:33 am to bamarep
quote:
Not to sound like a dumbass, but why are y'alls mercury levels so damn high?
The levels have been high ever since they developed the technology to detect the mercury. Before they had that technology, the levels weren't high. It was like it didn't exist. We ate tons of fish and crab fat and never got sick. And that was when plants just dumped their effluent straight into the rivers untreated. Go figure?
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:33 am to TheDrunkenTigah
quote:and the miss river is leveed off all the way through la until venice....
Probably because half the country’s industry drains through the Mississippi.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 10:51 am to bamarep
The human body cannot absorb mercury too well anyway. Mercury is too heavy to be readily absorbed (unless in vapor form).
Most of it will just pass through.
Most of it will just pass through.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 11:00 am to WPBTiger
I’m surprised y’all are just now getting this.
Things like this are why it amazes me that there aren’t more hunters who are pro environmental protection. Corporations don’t give a shite about our fish and game.
Things like this are why it amazes me that there aren’t more hunters who are pro environmental protection. Corporations don’t give a shite about our fish and game.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 11:03 am to Masterag
What are we supposed to get?
Mercury has been around longer than all of us, it’s been in the ecosystem just as long but now we’re supoosed to be afraid because mankind has better ways to calculate exposure risks?
It’s a non story for me.
Mercury has been around longer than all of us, it’s been in the ecosystem just as long but now we’re supoosed to be afraid because mankind has better ways to calculate exposure risks?
It’s a non story for me.
Posted on 2/10/19 at 11:13 am to HollyWoodCole
quote:
The human body cannot absorb mercury too well anyway. Mercury is too heavy to be readily absorbed (unless in vapor form).
What??? Ethylmercury will be broken down and mostly removed from the body. But methylmercury will not. It accumulates primarily in the kidneys and brain, hence the concern for neurological disorders. Methylmercury is the form created by microbes and such when they uptake inorganic mercury in aquatic ecosystems.
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