Subject:  MICHIGAN FISH |
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Date Posted: 20:36:01 07/16/01 Mon
In a warning for Michigan anglers and fish eaters across the nation, scientists have tied chemical contaminants in popular Lake Michigan fish to memory loss and brain damage in those who eat them.
http://www.detnews.com/2001/health/0107/12/a01-246597.htm
New findings from a nine-year study of Michigan residents are reviving a bitter debate over Great Lakes fish and claims by environmental groups and some sportsmen that state eating advisories fall far short of safety.
Michigan ships thousands of pounds of commercially caught Lake Michigan whitefish and lake trout to restaurants from New York to California without health warnings for PCBs, mercury and other pollutants, or explanations of the lake origins of the fish.
And though state warnings for local anglers limit and sometimes ban eating of their Michigan catch, the same fish are being sold by restaurants, grocery stores and fish markets without warnings.
"I have to suspect the state's advisories aren't stringent enough," said Douglas Fuller of Harbor Springs, who fishes for Lake Michigan trout and salmon. "I've chosen to eat less fish, even in restaurants. I have to think the state errs on the side of being not too cautious."
Scientists last month completed a study of 180 Michigan residents who ate varying amounts of Lake Michigan whitefish, trout, salmon, perch and other species.
After taking blood samples and testing residents' memories and brain functions, researchers found "for the first time, that PCB exposure (tied to heavy fish consumption) during adulthood may be associated with impairments ... of memory and learning."
The study is drawing interest among pollution experts. Unlike past research, which centered on PCB exposures to women and children, its findings suggest long-term health damages for adult males.
Despite state-issued warnings in Wisconsin and Illinois for the entire public, Michigan's health advisories divide risks and often permit adult males to consume more fish than recommended for youths and females.
"This study points out that everybody -- including adult males -- may be at risk if they eat enough Lake Michigan fish," said Dr. Susan L. Schantz, a University of Illinois researcher and principal author of the study.
Michigan officials maintain that most Great Lakes fish, if eaten in moderation, pose few risks and likely bring health gains. The state's complex, 54-page eating advisory actually begins with a list of benefits from eating fish.
"Exposure levels to PCBs and other chemicals are much, much lower than two decades ago," said John Tilden, food safety manager with the Michigan Department of Agriculture. "But that's not to minimize there are risks."
Women receive warning
As it stands, Michigan's advisory draws an imaginary east-west line across Lake Michigan at the port of Frankfort. Whitefish north of the line are considered to be higher in contamination: The advisory warns women against consuming any of the
species.
Yet south of the Frankfort line, women and youths may eat limited servings of smaller whitefish (shorter than 22 inches) amounting to one meal per month. Critics of the state advisory point out that whitefish, classified as deep-lake fish, almost
certainly pass across the line as they travel to forage.
"Fish don't respect imaginary lines," said Tanya Cabala of the Lake Michigan Federation, a conservation group in Muskegon. "It's time for a uniform, standard advisory that covers all Great
Lakes fish."
Even so, commercial fishermen continue to harvest millions of pounds of Lake Michigan fish each year, some of it shipped to markets in Chicago and New York, and to restaurants in Florida and California.
No declaration is made of the exported fishes' lake origins or health warnings issued to local anglers. Michigan officials say exports do not pose health issues because restaurant diners eat far fewer of the fish meals than do anglers and those living
closer to the lake.
"If the same testing regime (used on fish) was applied to beef, poultry or hogs, we'd probably see some interesting things," said Paul Jensen, a Muskegon commercial fisherman who nets for whitefish. "Our fish advisories are distorted across the board -- against eating fish."
Source hard to pinpoint
The customers of commercial fisheries, fish wholesalers say it's difficult to determine if trout and whitefish hail from Lake Michigan or from Lake Superior, where contamination by PCBs and dioxins usually poses less of a problem.
"I can't tell the difference between Superior and Michigan whitefish," said Brian Tierney, manager of Euclid Fish Co., a Detroit seller of walleye, trout and whitefish. "What if the fish comes out of the Straits of Mackinac? How do you know where it's been?"
Records of commercial catches show that Lake Michigan yields about 4.8 million pounds of whitefish annually and 979,000 pounds of lake trout. Uncounted thousands of pounds more are caught and consumed by recreational anglers fishing from the
shoreline and boats.
In comparison, Lake Superior produces far fewer commercial fish: 1.5 million pounds of whitefish and 224,000 pounds of trout. With no system to tie fish to a specific lake, much may wind up as "Lake Superior whitefish" or generic "Great Lakes trout" on restaurant menus.
"These fish are all being mixed in the markets. They're not being separated before they hit the tables," said Dr. Ronald E. Kinnunen, a Michigan State University biologist who keeps yearly commercial counts.
Diligence is best
For fish eaters, state health experts and environmentalists agree the best defense remains in diligently preparing fish and removing the fats in which PCBs, dioxins and mercury may be stored. In general, that means broiling flesh and removing fish
skin before eating.
The Lake Michigan study began in 1992. It tracked residents, ages 49-86, and took blood readings for lead, mercury, PCBs and the pesticide compound DDE. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are a group of 209 long-lived chemicals tied to cancers of the brain, liver, skin and breast and developmental
problems in children.
Researchers from MSU, Illinois, University of Texas and the State University of New York then gave subjects a series of mental tests, including specific tests for learning, verbal recall and visual-spatial functioning.
Residents with higher levels of PCBs tended to be heavy eaters of Lake Michigan fish, often consuming more than 24 pounds of the fish each year. The same group tended to score relatively poorly on memory and learning tests.
The study concludes "that adults exposed to elevated levels of PCBs may be at risk of neuropsychological impairment," as opposed to damages already revealed in children and women of child-bearing years.
"The good news is that many brain functions were not
affected (in heavy fish eaters)," said Donna Gasior, an MSU psychologist who conducted the mental tests. "I suppose the bad news is that the effects of PCBs have been so hard to track. They're subtle."
You can reach Jeremy Pearce at (313) 223-4825 or jpearce@detnews.com.
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