Do You Eat Fish from the River?

I’ve been running and/or helping out with the Susquehanna River Cleanup for 10 years and one thing that I have loved about this experience is that people from all persuasions seem to care about this effort. No one wants to see garbage floating down the river or fish and marine life wrapped up and dying in debris or discarded fishing line. Each year, our events draw everyone from the environmentalist, to the sportsman, to the local business owner. They all see this as an issue that they can help with, and they do. But unfortunately, water quality is not just about litter.

I am a fisherman and there are several species that I just enjoy catching and releasing. There are lots of others however, that make great table fare. My son Will was thrilled with the trout we caught this Spring from a local creek and was so proud when we ate it for dinner later that evening. But there are good eating fish that come from the river as well. For example, the invasive Flathead Catfish is said to be the best tasting catfish there is. Farm raised catfish generally go for about $10/lb. But commercial fishing is not permitted in Pennsylvania, even of invasive and ecologically devastating fish like the flathead which easily reach sizes over 30 lbs. But why bring up the commercial fishing element?

It’s interesting how many people I talk with who do eat fish, both freshwater and saltwater fish, but will say “I’d never eat fish out of that (polluted) river.” At the same time, they have very little understanding of the contaminants found in saltwater fish or where some of their other fish comes from such as certain Asian countries with incredibly lax regulation on water pollution or fish farming. And at the same moment, acknowledging that the pollutants in our own beloved Susquehanna River are unacceptable for eating, but being unwilling to fight for cleaner water is something that baffles me…

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection puts out an annual Fish Consumption Advisory which lists flathead catfish as a 1 meal/month status and mercury as the lead contaminant (.21-1.0mg/kg). Catfish mercury levels are generally lower than other predator fish, so let’s just assume it is actually an average .5 mg/kg. That level is lower than most tuna and much lower than swordfish. It’s actually on par with a fish like grouper. So while on one hand, I am advocating eating more fish from the river, because they are not really any less safe than your commercial fish, I am not saying eating mass quantities of fish is healthy, or that our rivers and oceans are in good shape. Quite the opposite.

I really love seafood and fish. I also love wild food, and along with my wife, am able to provide pretty much all the red meat we need for a year by hunting. I’m working on the fish element as well. I’ve found crayfish to be abundant, fairly easy to catch, and luckily have lower levels of contaminants. Flathead catfish are next. But one meal per month? Like, what the hell? According to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute “The biggest single source (of mercury) is the burning of fossil fuels, especially coal, which releases 160 tons of mercury a year into the air in the United States alone.” Now, it’s not as cut and dry as that, since much of the mercury in our water was dumped there decades ago. But why do we continue to allow it? This is your food we are talking about. And you are advised to eat it only once a month…

How is it that we separate ourselves from the issues or are conditioned to believe that either things can’t change, we can’t make them change, or that they don’t affect us? If the river is too polluted for you to eat fish out of it, the way our ancestors did, isn’t that a problem that we should be concerned with? Some people don’t believe in climate change or don’t believe that it is influenced by human activity when science is clearly showing that it is and the continual use of fossil fuels is the main contributing factor. But many refuse to accept it. The questions I’ve always had about this is “Do fossil fuels have some sort of impeccable track record that I’ve missed over the years?” Oil spills, water contamination, fracking waste, earth quakes, and mercury levels in fish. These are all well documented effects of the fossil fuel industry, but somehow talk of climate change is a conspiracy theory. Remove climate change from the entire equation and we still have every reason we could ever need to move to renewable and clean energy. Some of those will have problems as well, and we will have to adjust and find solutions, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater to save space for your lazy, cigarette smoking uncle!

Exhale… why is it that wanting what’s best for people and the environment is seen as radical? Why is it that wanting to be able to breath clean air (without a level orange air quality advisory) or eat fish from my local waterway is considered liberal? How is this political? People will say it’s “anti-industry” or “anti-jobs” but that’s a load of bullshit. Do you want to know what really happens with unregulated and under-regulated industry? Their actions are subsidized. We pay for it. While they are boasting record quarterly profits, we are paying to repurpose their strip mines, clean up their acid mine drainage, and monitor their abandoned gas wells. We are also paying with our health; respiratory issues, cancer, and mercury poisoning. But I shouldn’t be concerned with any of that because Shell Gas CEO’s salary might slip below $11 million and they’ve promised to slash greenhouse gas emissions by 2050… thirty years… are you hearing any of this?

But you don’t believe in climate change. Fine. Do you believe that the river or creek just down the road should be safe to swim in? Safe to eat fish from? Do you think we should be able to trust that the water coming out of our wells and faucets is drinkable? If you think any of that, you have to do something. Please, be an advocate. I’d love to give you a link with an exact description of what being an advocate means, but you have to care yourself. You have to look and see what we are doing to this planet and just how unacceptable it is. Hold your politicians accountable. Call them out for accepting bribe money from the fossil fuel industry, regardless of party. Change does need to be radical, and it can’t wait another 30 years.

By the way, look up the recent “Red Tide” in Florida. It will break your heart. Not all pollution is from fossil fuels but all of it is man-made.

Will's trout, pan seared, with trout risotto and trout roe.