Corpusfishing.com

freak · Pony Mullet Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 67

Advisory Issued for Catfish, Speckled Trout From Galveston Bay
Comments 0 | Recommend 3
July 8, 2008 - 11:54AM
posted by: Scott Lawrence
AUSTIN (AP) - Fans of catfish and spotted seatrout caught in Galveston Bay are being advised to limit their consumption of the two species.

The advisory came Tuesday from the Texas Department of State Health Services.

DSHS says a two-year study found elevated levels of dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyl's, or PCBs, in catfish and spotted seatrout.

The advisory includes Chocolate Bay, East Bay, West Bay, Trinity Bay and contiguous waters.

The health agency says adults are advised to limit consumption of the two types of fish to no more than one 8-ounce meal per month.

Women who are nursing, pregnant or who may become pregnant and children should not eat catfish or spotted seatrout from Galveston Bay.

Spotted seatrout are also known as speckled trout.

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Freakout!

kadiyaker · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:19 am Post subject:

I wonder how bad it really is... For DSHS to come out with a warning about the consumption of sport fish is a big deal with huge negative economic impacts. I'm sure the decision was not made lightly. Did they actually publish numbers? If so, did they publish numbers for the entire coast? What about mercury and other contaminants? I've always wondered about this stuff, especially now with a little one on the way. Should I feel safe letting my wife eat what I'm catching? A few questions we should be asking the higher ups...
Being involved in research I've seen some data come out along the Texas coast and while most of it looks at oysters (because they're filter feeders and a good measure of water quality) the data doesn't look good. One particular study was well south of Galveston.
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KadiyaKer

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landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:41 am Post subject:

Nobody gets out of life alive Shocked

! When I was a kid we didn't have bicycle helmets, shinguards, etc, and we played kickball, baseball [with no hardhat], made our own scateboards from a 2x4 and some pulled apart-metal wheels, which were GUARANTEED to spin out and give you a bad case of road rash going around a fast curve, so forth and so on ad nauseum. I'm still here! I would bet that the pesticides that we all consume on [store bought] fruit and veggies and the hormones and such that are in meat are far more dangerous in the long run than eating some fish. Having said that I'm sure that there ARE areas [Nueces Bay] that harbor a motherload of those same toxins [and worse] from their proximity to the chemical plants in Corpus. I might not be inclined to eat much from there when the pickings are so good in the rest of the area.
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Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

frayed · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 10:48 am Post subject:

Not good at all.

Can anyone comment on the feeding patterns of trout and catfish, and why these two species are linked in this study? Also, what about reds. Would it be expected that contamination extends down into the inshore areas commonly fished by people on this board (e.g., the lagoon down into baffin)?

Also, PCBs have been banned in the US for 30 years. I remember as a kid a lot of talk about PCBs; I grew up around the great lakes where there was heavy contamination. Makes me curious about the source for PCBs along the gulf coast.
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Jeff

Get Busy

Capt Mike Singleterry · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 2728

Capt Mike Singleterry · Full Grown Flour Bluffian Joined: 07 Mar 2006 Posts: 2728

If anyone is interested here are a couple of sites with some info:

http://tpwd.state.tx.us/fishadvisory
http://dshs.state.tx.us/seafood/survey.shtm

Mike

kadiyaker · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 11:44 am Post subject:

landlocked beachbum · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject:

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/faq/fishboat/fish/pcbfaq.phtml

Ah yes, the old body fat %/food chain hierarchy equation. This is why BIG kings aren't supposed to be eaten too. They are high body fat fish and their age and diet mean that they have eaten AND STORED a buttload of bad stuff delivered to them from the lower rungs of the food chain.

Being an apex predator was a GOOD thing until man and nasty chemical compounds hit the scene! Shocked

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Dave

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits". Albert Einstein

frayed · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 12:41 pm Post subject:

Thanks for posting the links.

I wonder if anglers will take this seriously? If so, you have to wonder if we see elevated fishing pressure on reds and other species.
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Jeff

Get Busy

BALZTOWAL · Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2008 9:32 pm Post subject:

GALVESTON AREA HAS BEEN POLLUTED FOR YEARS AND WILL ALWAYS BE. THE MAIN THING IS WE WANT THOSE GUYS TO STAY OVER THERE SO IF THE FISH LOOKS OK GO AHEAD AND EAT IT DON'T BOTHER WASTING GAS TO COME ALL THE WAY DOWN HERE.