 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) doesn't have an orange category in its fish consumption advisory. In "Recipes for Catch and Release" we created the ORANGE fish designation to include the many popular species found in specific Pennsylvania and New York State waters with somewhat elevated levels of mercury, PCBs and Chlordane. A fish is designated as ORANGE if it is categorized "limit to 1-2 meals/month depending on where caught" in any of our states' waterways.
PCBs and
most other organic contaminants build up in a fish's fatty tissues.
The Pennsylvania and New York 2006 Fish Consumption Advisories suggest
that you remove
all skin and fat before cooking. Remove the belly meat
along the bottom of the fish. Cut away any fat above
the backbone. Cut away any fatty tissues along the lateral line
on each side of the fish. By baking or broiling fish on a rack or grill,
some of the remaining fat will drip away. Discard any drippings.
Mercury collects in the muscle and cannot be reduced by cleaning and cooking, but larger and older fish tend to collect more contaminants. Eating smaller, younger fish can help limit your exposure.
The following fish found in Pennsylvania waterways have at least one site where the posted advisory sugests a limit of 1-2 meals/month: Lake Erie Coho Salmon, Rainbow and Brown Trout, Small & Large Mouth Bass, Muskellunge (a.k.a Muskie), Crappie, and Sauger.
The following fish found in New York waterways have at least one site where the posted advisory sugests a limit of 1-2 meals/month: Lake Erie Coho Salmon, Rainbow and Brown Trout, Freshwater Drum, Herring, Muskellunge (a.k.a Muskie), Crappie, and Sauger.
For more information on the safety of the fish in your area, see the following sites: US Environmental Protection Agency, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, New York State Department of Health