After reading the warnings placed on fish consumption from the county’s inland lakes, one might think we’re living over a toxic waste dump.
Obviously that’s not the case, which is a reason discretion should be an ingredient in understanding the recently released MDNR Fish Eating Guide.
“I’ve probably had close to a dozen calls,” said Heather Hettinger, district MDNR fish biologist. “What I tell folks is that it’s just a guideline. We want people to use that guide to make informed decisions.”
The guide does make clear that Leelanau lakes don’t exist in a bubble. Warnings in the form of suggested intake precautions are published for Cedar Lake, Glen Lake, north and south Lake Leelanau, Tucker Lake, and even Belanger Creek upstream of the dam.
Most fish taken from Lake Michigan also made the list, including salmon, trout and whitefish.
The “chemicals of concern” imbedded in county game fish consist of mercury, PCBs, dioxins, PFOS in Cedar Lake smelt and Toxaphene found in Glen Lake lake trout.
Given the lack of an industrial base of any size in the county, where did those manufacturingassociated toxins come from?
“A majority we see in fish comes through atmospheric deposition that originates from other areas, such as factories in Minnesota and Wisconsin. When a weather event moves air across Lake Michigan, that causes atmospheric deposition to occur here,” Hettinger explained.
Most inland lakes in Leelanau County are not mentioned, a result reached by two possible scenarios. It may be that the lake was never sampled. In those cases, a lack of conclusive evidence resulted in their exclusion although those fish might, indeed, contain toxins.
Or it might be that fish in excluded lakes were tested and came out negative. “Lime Lake didn’t come in high for anything. If (toxins) are not there, the lake isn’t listed because nothing came back hot,” Hettinger said.
Over consumption of contaminants found in fish taken from lakes in the guide can cause a number of serious health issues, from neurological damage to cancer. In Leelanau County, acceptable levels of fish meals varied from 16 per month for bullheads from Tucker Lake to two coho salmon annually from Lake Michigan.
But the guide itself stops short of mandating adherence, stating it “is not a rulebook. These are only guidelines to help you make safer choices for you and your family. You are not required to use it.”
Indeed, strictly following the guide might require a calculator as adjustments are suggested for weight and in some fish age of the consumer.
Hettinger went on to suggest two general ways to reduce toxin consumption from fish. First, trim away fillet fat, which is where toxins tend to concentrate.
And second, eat younger fish. Mount or release the behemoths.
“A big lake trout is an older fish. That 20- or 21-inch fish would be a better choice. We don’t want to scare people off from eating fish, but we want them to make the best decisions for themselves,” she explained.
The Michigan fish consumption guide is available online at the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services website.
