A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 18, 2008
3. Watersheds -
State issues warning on mercury levels in fish caught locally -
Sacramento
OEHHA Releases Draft Report and "Safe Eating Guidelines" For Fish in the
Yubanet.com
Finally some good news for fisheries -
Auburn Journal
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State issues warning on mercury levels in fish caught locally
Sacramento
By Chris Bowman , staff writer
State scientists are recommending that children and women who are pregnant or breast-feeding avoid eating bass and sturgeon caught in the
This warning is the latest in a series of advisories issued over the years for fish that can accumulate mercury washed from long- abandoned gold mines.
This time, however, researchers did more than just examine fish tissue. They checked the other end of the fishing lines – the anglers.
Many of them were bagging species not usually included in fish consumption reports: pikeminnow, hitch, sucker, carp, goldfish and Asiatic clams. Researchers previously had targeted more popular game fish such as striped bass, sturgeon, trout and salmon.
"We didn't realize we were speaking in different tongues," Robert Brodberg, a toxicologist in the state Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, which issued a draft of the eating guide earlier this week.
Representatives of ethnic and low-income communities said they appreciated being asked.
"Fish is our main source of food," said Lim Leang, board officer for United Cambodian Families, a nonprofit group in
To develop the guidelines, researchers collected more than 3,200 specimens from as many as 86 sites, from Shasta Dam to Rio Vista. They individually measured and weighed fish and shellfish and analyzed tissues for contaminants, including levels of mercury.
Mercury impairs the nervous system, particularly in fetuses and children. There are no known ways to prepare or cook fish to reduce mercury hazard, state officials said.
The latest report, and a companion guide for the southern Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and
"We were trying to make things match up a little better," Brodberg said Thursday.
For the latest studies, the hazard assessment office – the scientific arm of the California Environmental Protection Agency – and the state Department of Public Health involved community groups.
"Staff talked with subsistence fishermen and got information on where they were fishing and what they were catching," Brodberg said.
That helped researchers determine the species they needed to examine and where to collect them.
In interviewing anglers, officials also learned they had been underestimating by half the typical serving size of river-caught fish.
An uncooked fillet averaged 8 ounces – double the weight state officials had assumed using federal nutrition guidelines, Brodberg said.
The new warning says it's safe to eat one serving of striped bass or sturgeon a month.
Andria Ventura, a program manager for the Clean Water Action public interest group, said she pushed for the revision.
"We wanted to make sure the guidelines reflected what people actually ate, not what the federal government says is good for your diet," Ventura said.#
http://www.sacbee.com/101/story/871953.html
OEHHA Releases Draft Report and "Safe Eating Guidelines" For Fish in the
Yubanet.com – 4/18/08
The draft report and guidelines provide information to fish consumers to help them choose the safest fish to eat from the
OEHHA staff scientists will make a presentation, answer questions and accept public comments on the draft report and guidelines at a public workshop on Wednesday, April 16 in
"The
The draft report, proposed guidelines and a fact sheet are available for viewing and downloading on OEHHA's website at www.oehha.ca.gov.
OEHHA's draft report concludes that many fish species from the
The draft "safe eating" guidelines include one set of recommendations for women ages 18-45, including pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children ages 1-17. A second set of guidelines is for women over 45 and adult men. Until final guidelines are issued, OEHHA recommends that the public follow the advice in the draft guidelines, as follows (next page):
Women ages 18-45 and children 1-17 may eat one serving a week of bluegill or other sunfish, crappie, carp, catfish, sucker, hitch, hardhead, or crayfish; or three servings a week of river-run salmon, trout, shad, or clams. They should not eat any largemouth, smallmouth or spotted bass; or pikeminnow.
Women beyond childbearing years and men may eat river-run salmon, trout, shad, or clams daily; or eat three servings a week of bluegill or other sunfish, crappie, carp, catfish, sucker, hitch, hardhead, or crayfish; or one serving a week of largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass; or pikeminnow.
OEHHA developed the new guidelines using fish-sampling data produced by the Fish Mercury Project, a three-year study conducted in the Sacramento-San Joaquin watershed, and funded by the California Bay-Delta Authority. Additional historical data was obtained from the CALFED Bay-Delta Program, the Sacramento River Watershed Program, the State Water Resources Control Board, and the
Previous guidelines for striped bass and sturgeon from the Bay-Delta also remain in effect:
Women ages 18-45 and children 1-17 should not eat any striped bass over 27 inches, and should eat no more than one serving a month of smaller striped bass (18 to 27 inches) or sturgeon (and only if no other fish are consumed). Women over 45 years and men should not eat any striped bass over 35 inches, and should eat no more than two servings a month of smaller striped bass (18 to 35 inches) or sturgeon (and only if no other fish are consumed). A serving should be measured as the same size and thickness as the palm of your hand. Serve smaller servings to children.
OEHHA previously issued guidelines for the
Major sources of mercury in the environment are runoff from former gold-mining sites where mercury was used, emissions from coal-burning power plants, and the weathering of mercury-containing rocks. Mercury accumulates in river sediment and is converted by bacteria to the more toxic methylmercury, which fish take in from their diet.
Women can pass methylmercury on to their fetuses through the placenta. Excessive exposure to methylmercury may affect the developing nervous system in children, leading to subtle decreases in learning ability, language skills, attention, or memory. These effects may occur through adolescence as the nervous system continues to develop.
Written comments on the draft guidelines must be received by 5 p.m. on May 27, 2008, at OEHHA's Pesticide and Environmental Toxicology Branch,
Finally some good news for fisheries
Auburn Journal – 4/18/08
Outdoors
By J.D. Richey
Unless you’ve been vacationing on Mars for the past several months, you know about the plight of the king salmon, one of
But today, there’s a ray or two of hope.
Just days after the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to close recreational and commercial salmon fishing off the coast of California and most of Oregon this year, three news stories came down the pipe that suggest that there’s some change afoot.
Federal Judge nixes water export plan
The first piece of positive fishery news came today when Fresno Federal Judge, Oliver Wanger tossed out a controversial water plan to pump more water out of the beleaguered Delta.
Wagner ruled that a study by federal water regulators didn’t consider the effects of global warming and other environmental issues related to disappearing
Though additional hearings on the matter are scheduled, the result of all this will likely be further cuts in water deliveries for both the state and federal water projects — cuts that will dramatically help our fisheries in the long run.
If we’re to have any fish around for our grandkids to catch, we need to start holding back some water now!
Salmon smolt release program to be improved
The salmon smolt release program in this state has been something that many anglers (including myself) have found totally asinine. For years, hatchery trucks have dumped millions of salmon in the same spot at Rodeo, where stripers and birds slaughter them.
Trucking smolt to the Rodeo area from the Sacramento, Feather, American and Mokelumne rivers was originally implemented to help give the fish a better chance at survival than if they had to migrate down the rivers and through the Bay-Delta system on their own. However, the fish suffer heavy losses at the hands of predators.
Thanks to a probe launched by State Assemblyman Jared Huffman of Marin, the DFG is now looking into rotating its release sites and trying new methods — and will hopefully have a better system for next year’s batch of baby salmon.
Now, if they can do the same with the steelhead plants at places like Wimpy’s on the Mokelumne…
Fishery restoration bills gaining momentum
A pair of important fish and wildlife habitat restoration bills written by Assemblywoman Lois Wolk — AB 1806 and AB 2502 — passed Tuesday through the California Assembly Water, Parks and Wildlife Committee.
AB 1806 was inspired by the stranding of fish on
The other bill, AB 2502 will create a Delta Ecological Restoration and Recreation Area, which would provide hunters and anglers increased recreational opportunities, while providing vital habitat for fish and fowl.
In a nutshell, Wolk’s plan is to obtain
Next up, the bills head for the Assembly Appropriations Committee sometime in May.
Thanks to Huffman and Wolk and everybody else who has been working on these things. Keep writing letters and joining organizations like the American Fishing Foundation (www.affinc.org) and www.waterforfish.org — it’s obviously helping! #
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