State amends fish advisory w/ DHSS Fish Advisory Report

By Wally Kennedy

wkennedy@joplinglobe.com

An examination of tissue taken from smallmouth buffalo fish in Turkey Creek, near the Kansas state line, shows that the species may be contaminated with high levels of PCBs and chlordane.

The test was done by the Missouri Department of Conservation and involved fish tissue that a person would consume if he ate that species.

Based on that finding, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services on Thursday added smallmouth buffalo at lengths greater than 21 inches in Turkey Creek to its annual fish consumption advisory. The fish is a type of sucker.

Officials characterize the report as more an awareness effort than a warning.

Fish species on the list should be avoided or eaten in limited quantities because of concerns about environmental contaminants.

The fish were taken from Turkey Creek near Route P in western Jasper County. The department said ingestion of the species should be limited to one meal per week. One meal is 11 ounces per adult and 3 ounces for children under 13.

Mike McKee, a resource scientist with the Department of Conservation, said spotted bass also were taken from the creek and tested. The tissue tests showed no elevated levels of contamination.

He said previous tests, involving channel catfish, sunfish and redhorse taken from Turkey Creek, showed no levels of contamination that would pose a health problem if the fish were eaten in large quantities.

McKee said tissue samples were taken last year from redhorse and rock bass in Shoal Creek, but the data from those tests are not yet available.

Chemicals, such as polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs, and pesticides, such as chlordane, have been in fish tissue for many years, though Missouri has seen a slow decrease in their concentrations, said Todd Blanc, an environmental specialist with the state health department who coordinates the report.

Blanc said smallmouth buffalo fish from Turkey Creek were not the only fish to be added to the state’s fish consumption advisory list. Two sites in Reynolds County were added because of levels of mercury in white bass and levels of lead in smallmouth bass. The Blue River in Jackson County was added because PCBs and chlordane were found in two fish species.

The state each year evaluates the level of contaminants in fish to make sure they are safe to eat. Consumption advisories are required because some contaminants, especially lead and mercury, can be present in certain fish at levels that could pose a health risk. Special cleaning or cooking methods cannot reduce levels of metals, such as mercury and lead.

It is generally safer to eat smaller fish because they have not lived long enough to accumulate mercury in their bodies.