Anglers know something’s fishy in catch

Fish – originally one of the finest foods on the planet – are becoming foul.

The latest example is the fish consumption advisory issued by the state of Idaho last week for Lake Pend Oreille.

The announcement came with little fanfare, almost as though we all should know that our waters are the home not only of lunker fish but also of heavy metals.

Lake Pend Oreille mackinaw and whitefish are tainted by mercury contamination, but there’s no need to panic, the advisory said.

State health officials cite health advantages for most people who eat reasonable amounts of fish from these waters. But they warn that children and women who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant or breast-feeding should limit their consumption to no more than two 8-ounce servings a month of lake trout or four servings of whitefish.

Lake Coeur d’Alene already has an advisory for all of its fish species because of contamination with mercury, lead and other goodies leftover from the region’s rich (although the riches generally went elsewhere) mining heritage.

Unless you’re pigging out on Coeur d’Alene fish four times a week, you probably don’t have to be concerned. But the advisory warns that kids 6 and younger should have no more than three meals a month involving fish from Lake Coeur d’Alene.

Here in Spokane, the city that’s Near Nature, Near PCBs, the Spokane River sediments are a veritable toxic brew.

Washington health officials warn that NOBODY should consume fish from the Spokane River between the Idaho border and Upriver Dam. No recipe can reduce the high levels of lead and PCBs.

There’s a certain justice to the thought that poachers are the only people being poisoned by those fish, since the upper river will open for the season June 1, but only to catch-and-release fishing.

Downstream, the recommendations lighten up. You can safely eat one meal a month of fish from the Spokane River between Upriver Dam and Ninemile Dam, health officials say.

Long Lake (Lake Spokane) has no advisory for meal restrictions, although state officials recommend that you eat fillets. Otherwise, trim the fat off backs, sides and bellies from whole fish before consuming them.

Unlike mercury, which builds up in the fish’s flesh, contaminants such as PCBs and many pesticides are stored mostly in the fat. Trimming fat and grilling the fish minimizes your exposure to contaminants.

A study of bass in Washington lakes and rivers prompted the Department of Health to issue a statewide advisory that children younger than 6 and women of child-bearing age should limit their consumption of bass to no more than two meals a month.

Washington’s statewide bass slot limit encourages retention of bass in the safest size range of 12 inches and less. Larger fish are more likely to have higher concentrations of mercury.

Lake Roosevelt had one of the first fish advisories in the region, with state officials recommending that women and children younger than 6 eat no more than two meals of walleye a month.

Contamination is lurking even in Montana, where skeletal drawings of fish in the state fishing regulations warn anglers of 38 waters with fish consumption advisories.

In most cases, the issue is mercury, which can damage the human nervous system. The greatest risk is to the fetuses of pregnant women.

The amount of mercury in fish varies widely among species and among individual fish. For example, cutthroat, brook and rainbow trout, as well as perch, generally contain low levels of mercury, because those species eat mostly insects.

However, predatory fish, such as lake trout, northern pike and walleye tend to pack in the mercury when it’s in their waters.

Mercury occurs naturally in trace amounts, but is spread widely through coal-fired power plants and other industrial facilities.

Thinking anglers who read these advisories might wonder why, in the current political climate, there’s a concerted effort to vilify environmentalists. But I digress.

The pollution of fisheries isn’t just an Inland Northwest problem.

Mercury concentrations found in Lake Pend Oreille mackinaw are similar to mercury concentrations found in canned white tuna (albacore). People who consume store-bought tuna or other fish in addition to fish from Lake Pend Oreille should consider this additional source of mercury when determining the amount of fish to eat, Idaho health officials said.

Forty-three states have issued fish consumption advisories for mercury contamination.

Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency recently adopted rules that allow power plants to continue spewing out mercury although technology is available that could reduce the emissions by 90 percent.

We should not have to choose between our fishing traditions and our health when this problem could be solved.

But with a national environmental policy as spineless as an Ugly Stik, the situation is going to get worse before it gets better.