anyone seen any real data on mercury levels in kings caught in our area?
Atlantic ocean advisories can be found on page 3 of this 2018 document. http://www.scdhec.gov/FoodSafety/Docs/Fish%20Consumption%20Advisory%20Table_2018.pdf
This has always been a big question for me. I’d love to see some actual lab results from a few fish out of the same area.
When you look at that chart on our freshwater rivers, some have no restrictions on blue gill, but 1 meal per week on redbreast? Fish have the same diet, what gives?
I’ve always wondered how one river very close to another can have no consumption while the other does not? So who’s dumping mercury in the one river but not the other? I don’t trust it, I eat as I catch and feel like cooking them.
It’s all a bunch of BS or I’d be dead by now. I knew a bunch of old timers that lived well into their 80s that ate more fish than I have.Even mud fish out the Edisto.Didn’t Blackbeard take mercury for syphilis?Ha
It’s been a few years back but DNR had several species of fish not to be eaten at all in the big Salkehatchie, while you could eat everything in the little salkehatchie (some were just once a week). I was very concerned as to what was being dumped in the big and causing the levels to be much higher.
I contacted DNR and talked with several different people, but was never given an answer. Just a run around. Did some of my own research and nothing could explain the difference. I think it’s hoodo science and improper sampling. If not then someone is covering up someone or something dumping mercury in one river but not the other. I even asked what they recommended for “1” meal, 1 fish 2 fish… 6 oz… 16 oz…
When I hear of ONE actual case that is an absolute mercury poisoning from eating local fish, then maybe I’ll change my mind. The only mercury poisoning I’ve known of was caused by dental fillings. For us older folk, might want to get some filings changed out rather than worrying about a couple of pieces of delicious fish.
A few years ago there was a TV news report on people along the Edisto River that had problems with mercury poisoning. Mercury harms the nerves , and they showed some people that had lost feeling and use of their hands feeling in their feet . Methyl mercury is worst in coastal rivers than in the upstate because the farther down a river you go , the more concentrated the bad things are. These people were eating lots of river fish! like every other day for years , and the favorite was predatory flat head catfish
There have been documented acute cases of mercury poisoning in individuals subsistence fishing in SC black water rivers. Most of the methyl mercury that is found in fish in these rivers results from precipitation of mercury from the atmosphere. Primary source is coal fired power plants. Since we are down wind of all the nations power plants you can imagine the problem. The low pH of our coastal rivers promotes the chemical breakdown of mercury into methyl mercury which accumulates in fish. DHEC has the real data from samples collected annually in most of these locations including tournament fish from past fishing for miracles tournaments. Remember when they used to keep the fish and have a fish fry at the end of a tournament that ended because of health and liability concerns. Particularly dangerous when children or pregnant/nursing females consume these animals.
http://saltwaterfishing.sc.gov/pdf/mercurymore.pdf
This report has actual data on king mackerel on page 8 as well as other species. It is old but largely still true in spite of efforts to reduce emissions of mercury.