Posted on: Wednesday, August 25, 2004
EPA warns anglers of risky fishing sites
By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer
The Environmental Protection Agency yesterday cited three potentially dangerous fishing areas in Hawai'i and several species of fish that can contain worrisome levels of mercury contamination.
The three fishery areas covered in the agency's 12th annual national advisory on fish that aren't safe to eat include the Ala Wai, Pearl Harbor and urban streams in Honolulu, which have been found to have detectable levels of a range of chemicals, including insecticides such as dieldrin and chlordane.
"We recommend people avoid eating fish caught in these areas," said Dean Higuchi, Hawai'i spokesman for the EPA. The insecticides, once used for termites, are called "legacy" pollutants. They are now banned but persist for years in the environment, particularly in sediment in streams, canals and bays.
The EPA also reiterated earlier warnings about eating certain kinds of marine fish because of high levels of mercury in their tissue. It recommends that fish suspected of being high in mercury be avoided by young children and women who are pregnant or breast-feeding.
"Mercury is one of our biggest pollutants of concern," said David B. Jones, association division director for the EPA in San Francisco. While it can be a serious problem in areas with mining and heavy industrial activity, mercury is also a problem in the open ocean, where certain fish high on the food chain can build up potentially hazardous levels of it in their flesh, a process called bioaccumulation.
One-third of the nation's lake waters and one-quarter of its riverways are contaminated with pollutants, the EPA said.
States issued warnings for mercury and other pollutants in 2003 for nearly 850,000 miles of U.S. rivers — a 65 percent increase over 2002 — and 14 million acres of lakes. The warning level is the highest ever reported by the EPA. It is partly a result of states taking a more aggressive role in monitoring for mercury, said environmental officials.
Jones said that introduction of mercury into the environment has been cut 50 percent in the past decade, but many sources, notably coal-fired power plants, continue to release the compound.
The state Department of Health, which issued mercury warnings last year, divides fish into three categories based on likely mercury levels and recommends that top predators such 'ahi, ono and opah should be eaten no more than once every two weeks.
Fish safe to eat weekly include aku (skipjack tuna), mahimahi, canned tuna, nairagi (striped marlin), cod, grouper, orange roughy, pollock and halibut. The third category, seafood safe to eat any time, are low-mercury species such as akule, awa (milkfish), moi, mullet, salmon, ika (squid), tako (octopus), scallops and shrimp.
"A Local Guide to Eating Fish Safely" is available on the Web at www.hawaii.gov/health/family-child-health/wic/pdf/fishsafety.pdf.
For more information on the EPA's announcement, visit the Web at www.epa.gov/water/science/fish.
Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.
