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WJTV 12
Where is it unsafe to fish in Mississippi?
By Garret Grove,
10 hours ago
JACKSON, Miss. ( WJTV ) – Catching a 60-pound catfish on Independence Day is the dream for most, but eating the fish from some waters in the state could be a nightmare for your health.
The Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) asserts that consuming fish from certain waters could make you sick. Health advisories spanning decades reveal that fish contaminated with mercury and forever chemicals swim throughout Mississippi. Some pollutants in Mississippi waters, like toxaphene and DDT, are now illegal to use in the United States.
MDEQ advises discretion while fishing at the following waterways:
Waterbody
Chemical
Date advisory issued
Action
Little Conehoma and Yockanookany River in Attala and Leake Counties. From Hwy 35 near Kosciusko, downstream to Hwy 429 near Thomastown
PCBs
June 1987
Consumption Advisory All Species Commercial Fishing Ban
Lake Susie, Oxbow Lake of Old Tallahatchie River in Panola County West of Batesville
PCBs
November 1989
Consumption Advisory All Species Commercial Fishing Ban
Escatawpa River from Alabama state line to 1-10
Mercury
May 1995
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Bogue Chitto River, entire length in Mississippi
Mercury
May 1995
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Yockanookany River, entire length
Mercury
May 1995
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Enid Lake
Mercury
May 1995
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Yocona River from Enid Reservoir downstream to the confluence with the Tallahatchie River
Mercury
September 1996
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Gulf of Mexico
Mercury
May 1998
King Mackerel <33′- no limit. 33-39″ limit consumption** >39″-do not eat
Pearl River from Hwy 25 near Carthage, downstream to the Leake County Water Park
Mercury
June 2001
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Grenada Lake and Yalobusha River from the dam downstream to Holcomb
Mercury
June 2001
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Mississippi Delta-all water from the mainline Mississippi River Levee on the West to the Bluff hills on the East, except for waters listed below
Toxaphene and DDT
July 2001
Limit Consumption Advisory for Carp, Buffalo, Gar and Large catfish (>22in)***
Pascagoula River, entire length
Mercury
September 2001
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
Archusa Creek Water Park
Mercury
September 2001
Limit Consumption Advisory for Largemouth Bass and Large Catfish (>27in)*
*The Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH) recommends that people limit the amount of bass and large catfish that they eat from these areas because of high levels of mercury in the fish. Children under seven and women of childbearing age should eat no more than one meal of these fish every two months. Other adults should eat no more than one meal of these fish every two weeks.
**MSDH recommends people limit the amount of 33-39″ King Mackerel they eat from the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Children under seven and women of childbearing age should eat no more than one meal of these fish every two months. Other adults should eat no more than one meal of these fish every two weeks.
***MSDH recommends that people limit their consumption of these fish to no more than one meal every two weeks.
Mercury exposure usually occurs when people eat fish and shellfish with high levels of methylmercury in their tissues. People exposed to high levels of mercury may experience adverse health effects. Polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) are toxic environmental pollutants that also tend to accumulate in animal tissues.
Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) is an odorless water-insoluble insecticide banned in the United States. It tends to accumulate and persist in ecosystems, hurting native wildlife. Toxaphene is another insecticide banned in the U.S.
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