State fish advisories ignored by anglers
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
 LANIA COLEMAN THE SAGINAW NEWS LANSING

 -- Anglers continue to ignore state advisories against eating fish from the Saginaw Bay, Saginaw River, Tittabawassee River and Shiawassee River, state officials say.

The state Department of Community Health released preliminary findings Monday from its yearlong fish consumption survey of more than 1,000 anglers.

Workers from the state Health Department's Division of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology conducted the survey from March 2005 to March 2006.

The study revealed that while most people were aware that the state provides information on which fish are safe to eat, they don't necessarily follow the government's advice.

Many of the people surveyed reported that they eat carp and catfish from the Saginaw and Tittabawassee rivers, even though the state has said the fish contain dioxins, furans and PCBs at levels that could cause harm.

The 2004 Michigan Family Fish Consumption Guide, the most recent fish advisory, provides suggestions for safe cleaning, cooking and consumption of fish caught in Michigan waters. The public may obtain copies of the guide online at  www.michigan.gov/mdch-toxics .

Meanwhile, the state Health Department and Saginaw's First Ward Community Center will collaborate on a public information campaign urging residents to avoid eating certain fish caught from the Saginaw Bay Watershed.

A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant will pay for the campaign to "better inform the urban minority fishing community about choosing safe sport-caught catfish and other species," the agency said in a press release.

The News could not reach a spokesman for First Ward. v

LaNia Coleman is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach her at 776-9690.
 

For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.