PCB levels lead to warning on bluefish, striped bass
6/4/09 | 6 comments
Health

PCB levels lead to warning on bluefish, striped bass


From BDN Staff and Wire Reports

Maine and six other East Coast states are advising pregnant women and young children to avoid eating striped bass and large bluefish caught recreationally in state waters because of high PCB levels in the migratory fish.

PCBs — polychlorinated biphenyls — are released into the environment from certain coolants, fluorescent lights, hydraulic oils, electrical equipment and other sources. They accumulate in certain species, can affect the endocrine system and brain development, and have been shown to cause cancer in animals.

The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday that pregnant women, women who may get pregnant, nursing mothers and children under 8 should avoid the fish altogether. Everybody else is being warned to limit consumption to four meals a year.

Maine officials say similar advisories are being issued in New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

The advisory stems from a multistate report completed in 2008. In addition to the high PCB levels, the study found that bluefish and striped bass contained lower levels of beneficial omega-3 fatty acids in relation to the level of PCBs they contained.

Maine’s previous bluefish and striped bass advisory was issued in 2000, when people were advised to limit consumption to no more than two meals per month.

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Comments
6 comments on this item
On 6/4/09 at 12:22 AM, irv4me wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

So how do we prevent PCB exposure to fish? Stop dumping stuff into lakes and rivers...what?

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On 6/4/09 at 8:36 AM, mccojay wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

This is ocean fishing not lakes,rivers. We have polluted the oceans with the plastics and chemicals manufactured for or modern way of life. Sad to contemplate, we can no longer eat earths' bounty. Humans have fished for millennia to feed themselves, now fisheries have either collapsed or are too poisonous to eat. Four meals of striper a year. Dire.

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On 6/4/09 at 8:55 AM, frostheev wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Next year, when we have to pay a fee to get a saltwater fishing license, the fish will be perfectly OK to eat! All of this PCB nonsense will disappear! This state wants to save as many fish as they can for the licensed fisherman next year!

Never trust government, only in defense!

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On 6/4/09 at 9:03 AM, mccojay wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

Lobster tomalley hasn't been approved for anyone to eat for ten years, you used to be able to catch flounder and cod from rock outcroppings but those fisheries have failed and the pollution is getting worse. Licenses, I agree, are onerous and and a money grab, but the real issue here is the chemicals found in our ocean fish. This is bad, but wait until the news takes on the issue of what chemicals and amount of chlorine we ingest as we use the tap water each and every day. Oh wait, news organizations don't tell us the truth......just report on what the talking heads keep repeating.

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On 6/4/09 at 2:13 PM, ParkAveJoe wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

It is a disgrace, an outrage, that pollution is doing so much damage.

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Not safe to eat the fish you catch?????

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And this is presented as an "Oh-by-the-Way" news story.

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On 6/5/09 at 6:02 AM, safedman wrote:         Repeated separate thumbs down will cause comment to be hidden

And they want to charge for a sea fishing license. Make me laugh.

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