Hilton Head Island – Local fishermen and restaurateurs doubt a state warning to limit consumption of cobia will have much impact on the desire to catch and eat the popular saltwater fish.
Citing concerns about mercury contamination, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials on May 9 advised people not to eat more than one meal per month of cobia, which some consider to be one of the tastiest fish caught in South Carolina.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has advised people not to eat more than one meal per month of cobia.
State officials added cobia to the list of species with warnings after collecting samples from fishing tournaments during the past few years, DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick said.
Bryan Bobinchuck, chef and part-owner of Catch 22 restaurant on Hilton Head Island, said the warning hasn’t deterred anglers or customers.
Bobinchuck, who frequently fishes local waters, said anglers are still pursuing cobia as usual. Customers have been ordering it as usual, too, he said. The warning, it seems, “has not scared anybody off,” he said.
The warning added cobia to a list of four other fish that carry advisories because of mercury pollution: shark, swordfish, larger king mackerel, and tilefish.
Hilton Head Island – Local fishermen and restaurateurs doubt a state warning to limit consumption of cobia will have much impact on the desire to catch and eat the popular saltwater fish.
Citing concerns about mercury contamination, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control officials on May 9 advised people not to eat more than one meal per month of cobia, which some consider to be one of the tastiest fish caught in South Carolina.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control has advised people not to eat more than one meal per month of cobia.
State officials added cobia to the list of species with warnings after collecting samples from fishing tournaments during the past few years, DHEC spokesman Adam Myrick said.
Bryan Bobinchuck, chef and part-owner of Catch 22 restaurant on Hilton Head Island, said the warning hasn’t deterred anglers or customers.
Bobinchuck, who frequently fishes local waters, said anglers are still pursuing cobia as usual. Customers have been ordering it as usual, too, he said. The warning, it seems, “has not scared anybody off,” he said.
The warning added cobia to a list of four other fish that carry advisories because of mercury pollution: shark, swordfish, larger king mackerel, and tilefish.
Does anyone know what makes these fish more prone to Mercury than others? The seem to life in very different parts of the ocean. Is it lifespan? Is it their food? Don’t they eat a very different diet? I’m guessing it’s not lack of migration since Swords go so far north and south (IE staying in high area of Mercury). Are dolphins not prone due to their relatively short life?
There should be a law that reguires any reporting of mercury in any animal, also report the amount of selenium as well…
Mercury, Mercury, Mercury…is all you hear, yet no one is dieing or has been getting sick from it…
I suspect the new incorparation of ‘cobia’ with the once a month meal recommendations from DHEC has more to do with a failed gamefish bill in the SC General Assembly, then unbias science.
I guess tainted pond tilipia from china possess less of a threat to the population then any fish that comes from our ocean.
There should be a law that reguires any reporting of mercury in any animal, also report the amount of selenium as well…
Mercury, Mercury, Mercury…is all you hear, yet no one is dieing or has been getting sick from it…
I suspect the new incorparation of ‘cobia’ with the once a month meal recommendations from DHEC has more to do with a failed gamefish bill in the SC General Assembly, then unbias science.
I guess tainted pond tilipia from china possess less of a threat to the population then any fish that comes from our ocean.
But of course their not. I mean lead, melamine, and human waste have been proven to be healthy… Oh wait
The danger from methyl mercury is very real. It causes nerve damage that is ireversable. Nobody dies from mercury - but nerve damage can be devistating. Some of the studies I have read suggest that the most danger from mercury is in fresh water fish in lowcountry rivers. The land runoff in rivers concentrates much more so than in the ocean. Mercury accumilation is much higher in older fish at the top of the predatory chain. Personally , I would eat a cobia steak before I would eat a big catfish fron the Edisto river.
