Interesting Read - Alberta Fish Are Inedible

[ÜberFly]

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/sports/Kenn...4259/story.html

 

Not sure where the writer got her facts: "There are 63 species of fish in the province, but only 18 of these are preferred for food or angling, including: pike, walleye, bull trout, sturgeon and arctic grayling".?! Since there are zero possession limits on both these species!! I guess she means to fish for and not to eat?!

 

P

[Smitty]

http://www.globaltvcalgary.com/sports/Kenn...4259/story.html

 

Not sure where the writer got her facts: "There are 63 species of fish in the province, but only 18 of these are preferred for food or angling, including: pike, walleye, bull trout, sturgeon and arctic grayling".?! Since there are zero possession limits on both these species!! I guess she means to fish for and not to eat?!

 

P

 

Read the paragraph again. It makes sense grammatically. The key word is "or".

[ÜberFly]

Yeah I realized that and that's why I included the last sentence .

 

P

 

 

Read the paragraph again. It makes sense grammatically. The key word is "or".

[robert]

I personally don't know what facts are correct but in the 10 years fishing in Alberta, i've eaten a couple of fish out of one lake only and that was 3 hours north of here. The rest is all catch and release.

 

It turns my stomach to see people pulling fish out of some lakes for consumption - maybe i'm wrong, i don't know. I fish Devils lake (Matchayaw) quite a bit throughout spring to fall but to see the sturgeon river that flows into it? OMG, that river is disgusting on the best of days - I can only imagine what the fish are full of.

 

The NSR? Forget it, even tho i've never been able to catch a fish in there it's still a great river to flick a fly on the worst of days.

 

Even some of the stock ponds are out - like cardiff in morinville. I've been told a few times that it was originally the old town dump from the 60's and again, I don't know if that's true or not but i'm not taking any chances.

 

Are the fish in stores any safer? Don't know really. I think everything we eat is contaminated with something or other.

[robert]

This turns me off...

 

 

For instance, it is recommended that women of childbearing age and kids under 11 avoid eating walleye and northern pike caught in the Bow River, below the Bassano dam, while healthy adults are advised to limit consumption to 75 grams per week.

 

 

 

Maybe i'm just less learned but the article states that most of the mercury in the bow is from natural sourcs - so why just below the Bassano dam? Where is the mercury coming from? And if many folks don't read the regs (as we all know) then how are they supposed to know? I know people that probably smoke more than 75 grams of dope a week. 75 grams isn't much.

 

Have you seen people taking fish below the Bassano dam?

[midgetwaiter]

Another Robert Kennedy "I'm gonna go make something up" moment, the man is a reactionary idiot. If you are unfamiliar with his past stupidity look for the Rolling Stone article he wrote about vaccines and autism, it would be hilarious if it wasn't so silly.

 

 

[WesG]

What alarms me more in this article is that there are 800 commercial fishing operations in this province.

[ÜberFly]

Wes,

 

Why are you alarmed?! B/c it's "unregulated" or just too many operators?! Or for other reasons?

 

P

 

What alarms me more in this article is that there are 800 commercial fishing operations in this province.

 

[maxwell]

i like how they talk aobut the bow in that one too .. sure the bow is blue ribbon and has the higher amount of guides on it but they are all catch n release.. so why would it matter whens in the flesh???? i kinda like the hyp tho! make all rivers catch n release only!

[Smitty]

I personally don't know what facts are correct but in the 10 years fishing in Alberta, i've eaten a couple of fish out of one lake only and that was 3 hours north of here. The rest is all catch and release.

Been fishing the province all my life; have been selectively eating fish from many different lakes or rivers from AB. No third eye or limb sprouting from me yet.

 

It turns my stomach to see people pulling fish out of some lakes for consumption - maybe i'm wrong, i don't know. I fish Devils lake (Matchayaw) quite a bit throughout spring to fall but to see the sturgeon river that flows into it? OMG, that river is disgusting on the best of days - I can only imagine what the fish are full of.

Pretty judgmental, don't you think? That's the problem with imagination; we imagine the fish are full of whatever we make up. However, I have never fished Devil's lake; I do hear its pretty soupy in there.

 

The NSR? Forget it, even tho i've never been able to catch a fish in there it's still a great river to flick a fly on the worst of days.

Living in Edmonton, I must agree with you there, but what if I caught a brook trout near the headwaters? Same deal? Not really, I am sure you see the difference.

 

Even some of the stock ponds are out - like cardiff in morinville. I've been told a few times that it was originally the old town dump from the 60's and again, I don't know if that's true or not but i'm not taking any chances.

 

Trout quality and taste varies from lake to lake. I have had no problems with perch or trout from Dolberg, as an example. We ate one out of Swan early in May and it was fine too. (A small hush comes over the reader as I have publicly admitted to eating trout). Ditto with the Ram; ever had a cutty out of there? Delicious. Course, everyone wants to shoot me now, probably assuming I caught it in the C&R section, not realizing (1) that's not where I usually fish, and/or (2) I ate said fish before C&R regs was enacted.

Want a safe fish that blows a salmon out of the water? Try a brook trout for shore lunch out of Maligne. You'll take home a limit of 2, I guarantee that!

 

Are the fish in stores any safer? Don't know really. I think everything we eat is contaminated with something or other.

 

Had the chance to go see the Monterey Bay Aquarium (near Pebble Beach California). It was awesome! They had a safe consumption guide; here's the web page.

 

http://www.montereybayaquarium.org/cr/cr_s..._resources.aspx

 

 

And, http://seachoice.org/files/pdf/SEACHOICE_alertcard09.pdf

 

I know that consumption guide doesn't really address fish eating issues locally out of this province, but its some info to peruse. The color chart hangs on my fridge.

 

Want to really avoid the issue. Do what Sun does; lots and lots of perch (generally, not high enough on the chain or a big enough fish or not enough of a piscivore to accumulate toxins).

 

 

 

Bottom line is that Kennedy, as per usual, likes to talk out his arse. Most of the fish in the province is edible; much of it protected by C&R and/or strict regulations and/or relatively inaccessible and/or lightly fished (think far north).

 

And Robert, I have followed the consumption guidelines for the mercury thing. I have eaten fish (walleye), for example, out of Moose lake. No problems yet, but I kept the meals very small, and spaced widely apart.

 

After reading Michael Pollan's books "In Defence of Food" and "Food Rules" I have come to realize there are, pardon the pun, bigger fish to fry when it comes to eating habits.

 

Anyways, that's my 2 cents. Occasionally, its a good thing to actually harvest - yes, kill - your own food.

 

Smitty

P.S. And honestly, despite the impression from above, I'm not a big fan of fish! lol I'm more of a beef, chicken, and pork kinda guy, but darn it, the doc says keep eating more of the stuff that swims...

[robert]

hush comes over the crowd? i'll probably make them scream - I hate perch - don't like the taste or texture but they are fun to catch. Even more fun when people get pissed that I outfish them and toss them all back. but that's another story.

 

That said - yep, guidelines. When has the government ever got their heads of their arses long enough to provide the proper information. Yeah, mercury is a problem but what else gets into the rivers and lakes. Lead is a big problem - hazardous on every level to every species and alot of it comes from fishermen and hunters over water. There's a reason you can't shoot lead over water in this province. Wish they would ban it from fishing as there are other alternatives but it's up to the person to make a choice and not use it.

 

Everything that goes up must come down. i don't know anymore.

[ironfly]

How much lead do you figure goes into the NSR or the Bow every year from lost sinkers? A few hundred pounds? A tonne or more? Every year for the past fifty or so. Scary.

 

Rick

[Jayhad]

How much lead do you figure goes into the NSR or the Bow every year from lost sinkers? A few hundred pounds? A tonne or more? Every year for the past fifty or so. Scary.

 

Rick

 

I've always wondered that myself, think of how much goes into west coast rivers where bottom bouncing with 2"-3" of pencil lead is the norm. 20 years ago when I bait fished there were many days where I would lose at least 2 rolls or around 3lbs multiply that by 10,000 anglers on a weekend.

[robert]

And that's my point. When it comes to contamination and fish - mercury seems to be the first and only consideration. Lead is probably a bigger concern than mercury and has anyone really tested the waters around alberta for it? There's so much pollution in general that gets dumped into the waterways and lakes all across the country.

 

Think about the simple things like car exhaust. It's going to settle somewhere - yeah we breathe it but it will build up in the water.

 

Think about the consumption of the fish and how safe it is. What else comes to mind.

[alan2]

Many years ago the fish in Bow Lake were studied and found to have high levels of mercury. Not what you'd first think, eh? That's because the snow accumulates on the Bow Glacier above, and carries minute amounts of mercury, it gets compressed and becomes glacial ice, then it melts over time, runs off and Bow Lk --- right below--- is the first place it settles out. Conceivably, as man adds more mercury to the environment, it will continue to accumulate and if anything, get more abundant in both those fish and the lake. I doubt there are very many fish in that lake anyway. Too cold, too sterile for much insect life.