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How Safe To Eat From Lake Ontario


Sprout

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How safe is it to eat fish from Lake Ontario, I know Lake Erie is not too bad but heard Lake Ontario is not great. I would like to catch and cook up a salmon but wonder how safe it is, one person told me no pregnant women or kids should eat fish from the lake, how true is that?

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Make sure you trim off the belly fat and any other visible fat. You won't have any issues unless you eat a lot of them. I can tell you that a small one will taste better than a big one though. I'm not a real fan of salmon though. Salmon tend to carry higher levels of mercury due to the amount of fatty tissue they carry. I have no problem eating fish out of lake ontario once and a while. I wouldn't have it as my main source of food, but from time to time is fine.

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thats what I always thought, one or two isn't gonna kill you. I am not a huge fan of salmon but my wife is, so she will be happy if I bring one home. I'll just make sure to trim as much of the fat as possible. thanks.

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Sry to tell u this... but last time i did some study.... lake ontario fish are much safer to eat than does over sea frozen fish. i personally dont eat fish period but i did the study for some one else. if u freeze lake ontario fish over night it should be much safer to eat i heard. like every one says 1 or 2 cant hurt u. macdonald does better job.

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I have the same reservations. The Guide to Eating Sport Fish put out by the MNR is a good guide. It says 1 or 2 servings per month for coho under 26" I believe, they recommend nothing over that for coho.

I looked at Lake Erie recommendations and they are MUCH better than Ontario. We kept a 8-9 pound salmon, I filleted it, took off all the fat I could see and skinned it. Going to bake it in the oven with butter, garlic and lemon.

I am sure once in a while is fine you just don't want to eat it every day. There is more mercury in the flu shot than in a 20lb fish I bet, and they want you to get those every year.

OO

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My sister in law loves trout and I bring some home for her every once in a while, when she was prego with my nephew her doctor told her to stay away from fish altogether, you might want to get your wife to talk to her doctor before eating anything out of Lake Ontario or any farm raised salmon for that matter

were you at Bronte Sunday night? just curious as I had a conversation with a guy about the same thing after I released a fish

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my wife is not pregnant, at least I hope not, haha, I was just repeating what I was told, although looking back it does appear as though I was implying my wife was pregnant, haha.

Wasn't me at Bronte, never fished there. Thanks for the info guys.

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Personally, I use the most restricted guidelines to determine what I will eat. If you look at U.S studies, especially NY state, they say even less fish than what Ontario says is safe.

Stick to using guidelines, they've been put out by professionals who are testing the tissue in a lab setting. There is no opinion involved, just science. Some will say yes eat it, some will say no. Use the guideline and then decide if you're comfortable eating them.

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Niagara Fallls NY is littered with toxic waste dumps that are spilling into the Niagara River.

There is even radioactive dumps known to be located there.

I haven't eaten a fish from below the Falls since I read the DNR found bass with isotopes in them.

That was about 18 years ago.

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I will follow the "Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish".

For example, perfluorinated compounds (PFCs) contaminants level, in one kilogram of dorsal

muscle fillet.

0.080 milligrams for 8 times per month fish,

0.320 milligrams for 2 times per month fish,

0.640 milligrams for 1 time per month fish.

Saw two or three people keep huge crappies, up to 16", day after day from the Lake. I have never eaten single one of them from there. I know they are tasty.

Thanks for the info f-abc , Just for a meal size comparison , we would eat about 4 -5 perch fillets each , which would be less than 1/4 pound .Comparing that to the chart of 0.080 for 8 times per month per Kilo (2.2 lbs) , that would up my meal consumption to about 25 times per month . (everyday except Sundays)^_^ I believe we should worry more about the food we get at the local grocery stores .:o

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there are far too many other things that can kill you sooner than fish I say eat fish all you want what doesn't kill you only puts you in a wheel chair and I am prob going to lose some karma for this comment :P

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Guest LockedInTheTrunkOfACar

Niagara Fallls NY is littered with toxic waste dumps that are spilling into the Niagara River.

There is even radioactive dumps known to be located there.

I haven't eaten a fish from below the Falls since I read the DNR found bass with isotopes in them.

That was about 18 years ago.

The upper river is just as dirty ... The good ol love canal flows into that and they did a study 10 or 15 years back ... Catfish in the upper ... Like 95% of them had tumours ...

And back in the 70s you could almost walk across lake Erie it was so thick with sludge.

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The upper river is just as dirty ... The good ol love canal flows into that and they did a study 10 or 15 years back ... Catfish in the upper ... Like 95% of them had tumours ...

And back in the 70s you could almost walk across lake Erie it was so thick with sludge.

Sad to say , but there is a bonus side to all the factories leaving the country to freely spew out their chemicals in China, etc . We lose the jobs but get cleaner water and air . Since we are now a "green" society , those jobs will stay in Asia , Mexico & S.America . (beware the south winds) ;). When we get rid of the rest of manufacturing in N.America , we will have cleaner air & water , and fish can be eaten more often. :Gonefishing:

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Consumption advice in the guide is based on an average meal size of 227 grams (eight ounces, 1/2 pound). That's 4 pound per month for the cleanest fish according to the book.

think about an elevator.it says do not exceed 2000 lbs for example.that elevator can safely lift 4000 lbs!so by my calculations 1-2 fish a month should safely viewed as 2-4 per mo.i'm just sayin!please sign the waiver :crazy:

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Also the concept of bio-accumulation, meaning that for every step higher in the food chain the more contamination you find. This is why the highest contaminates are in sharks, swordfish etc. But i mean, you only live once. I caught a nice rainbow in port last week, it was delicious and i am certain this one fish will not be my downfall to cancer. The fish we catch here are no different than any fish you buy from the store interms of contaminates. Tuna is super high in heavy metals but no one stops to think about that before their soak it in mayonnaise and eat up. So just enjoy the fish while we still have them.

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