REPORT: MOST FISH IN AREA ARE SAFE TO EAT

For Wayne Edwards, who had his line in the waters of the Diversion Channel Thursday morning, the fun of fishing is the catching; the eating of his catch is a secondary pleasure.

Still, it is a relief to know that most of the fish pulled out of the waters in this area are safe to eat.

The Missouri Department of Health's 2000 Fish Advisory says all fish caught in Cape Girardeau County, excluding the Mississippi River, are safe to eat in any amount. Same goes for the fish in Perry, Bollinger and Ste. Genevieve counties.

The advisory recommends that bottom-feeding fish caught in the Mississippiand counties to the south, including Scott, Stoddard and Mississippi, be eaten no more than once per week. Also from the Mississippi River, sturgeon and sturgeon eggs should not be eaten because of PCBs and chlordane at levels of health concern.

And in the Iron Belt, including St. Francois, Iron and Jefferson counties, sunfish, carp, redhorse and suckers from the Big River, Flat River and Big Creek should not be eaten because of high lead levels.

"We are in good shape in this area," said Mike Reed, a fisheries management biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation in Cape Girardeau. "With a few exceptions, there are not many problems with fish here. And when you think about areas of the country where whole bodies of water are closed to fishing, we look very good."

The health of fish in Missouri is important to the Department of Conservation and to the 1.2 million anglers who annually fish in the state. The department annually samples and analyzes fish throughout the state, Reed said. The Missouri Department of Health then uses that data to produce a yearly fish advisory.

"Although in some areas of the United States fish seem to be getting more contaminated, in Missouri we are seeing what we believe to be a slow decrease in contamination levels of some chemicals," said Gale Carlson, environmental section chief with the Missouri Department of Health. One reason is that the chemical that caused the most widespread contamination in the past, chlordane, was banned by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1988.

Carlson said the ingestion of chemicals like chlordane and other pesticides and industrial solvents over a long period of time can increase cancer risks.

Carlson said the department is keeping a close eye on the level of lead in fish, which has been increasing in some locations. For example, Big Creek near Glover, Mo., was added to last year's advisory because lead has been found in sunfish at levels of health concern. The department is also watching the level of mercury in fish, because that chemical has been found to be increasing in some other states.

Lead can disrupt the development of the nervous system in fetuses and young children and can also affect the nervous systems of adults.

Carlson emphasized the advisory is not meant to discourage people from eating fresh fish, which is a good source of protein. Instead it is meant to notify them of potential problems and let them know there are many areas of the state where there are no significant problems.

"We are pretty lucky," Carlson said. "We don't have industrial sources of pollution spread throughout the state, and we have a lot of rural areas where the water is not polluted.

Reed said Southeast Missouri is fortunate to have many small lakes and reservoirs with good watersheds where contaminants are not a problem.

For information on the 2000 Missouri Fish Advisory, call (800) 392-7245.

Fish preparation tips

Here are some tips on trimming and cooking your fish to reduce fat and chemical contaminates:

1. Fillet fish, or if cooking with the bones in, remove all internal organs.

2. Trim away fatty portions of the fish such as the dorsal, lateral, and belly area. Cut away all fat along the back. Cut away a V-shaped wedge to remove the dark, fatty tissue along the entire length of the fillet. Slice off the belly fat.

3. Remove the skin from fish.

4. Do not eat the eggs. They are very high in fat.

5. Bake, grill or broil fish on a rack and let the fat drip away. Do not use the juices. Avoid pan frying in butter or animal fat or making soups or chowders. These methods retain fat-laden juices. If you deep fry fish, do not reuse the oil. Contaminants will become concentrated in that oil.

6. Trimming fat or special cooking methods will not reduce the levels of metals such as lead from fish.