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May
21, 1999
Nipissing's famed pickerel fishery opens Saturday but
contamination means kids and mums shouldn't eat much.
Tomorrow the pickerel season opens on Lake Nipissing.
Nipissing's famed pickerel make great eating - but the Environment Ministry is
warning children and women of childbearing age to limit their consumption.
"Lake Nipissing is renowned for its great pickerel fishing, so
it's especially sad that everyone can't enjoy as much as they like, said Bruce
Lourie, of Pollution Probe.
High levels of the nerve toxin mercury in sport fish has caused the
Ministry of the Environment (MOE) to warn anglers not to eat too much for fear
of health consequences.
This year recommended consumption levels have been revised downward
for kids and would-be mums. Recent studies show that mercury appears to be
more dangerous to them than had previously been believed. This has led the MOE
to cut in half the amount of contaminated fish it says these two groups can
safely eat.
The MOE's new "1999-2000" Guide to Eating Ontario
Sport Fish" recommends that children and women of child bearing age
eat no more than four meals a month of Lake Nipissing's delectable pickerel.
If the fish is greater than 45 cm in length, children and women of
childbearing age should eat none. The species is at the top of the aquatic
foodchain, and tends to concentrate water pollutants, particularly as they get
older and larger.
Scientists have concluded that a pregnant woman eating
mercury-contaminated fish risks causing brain damage to her fetus.
The Fish Guide notes that "mercury from sources such as the
burning of fossil fuels can still enter the aquatic environment through
precipitation." Coal-fired electricity plants are the major source of
this mercury air pollution.
"Pollution Probe advocates that coal-fired power plants be
phased out to reduce mercury pollution, as well as to deal with several other
important air pollution problems including smog and acid rain," Mr.
Lourie said.
For further information:
Bruce Lourie
(416) 922-9038
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