New guidelines say to limit intake of some seafood
By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer Capital 7-4-07
The state is out with its latest recommendations of how much seafood is safe to eat - and more kinds of local fish have been added to the list.
Armed with better data, the Maryland Department of the Environment added guidelines for eating white perch from the Severn River, South River and Herring Bay. They're just the latest additions on a list that's now grown to six pages.
Those three waterways previously were grouped under a broader Western Shore category, said Bridget Hill, an environmental specialist with MDE.
According to the department, white perch from local waters are generally safe to eat and few people actually eat fish often enough to be concerned. The new limits are:
South River: 46 meals per year for most adults, 35 for women of childbearing age and 27 for children.
Severn River: 34 meals per year for most adults, 26 for women of childbearing age and 20 for children.
Herring Bay: 30 meals per year for most adults, 23 meals for women and 18 meals for children.
The concern for white perch in this area comes from PCBs, which are harmful chemical compounds, according to MDE.
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Their manufacture was stopped in 1977 due to human health concerns.
The department has ongoing testing in fish for PCBs and mercury, a neurotoxin that can build up in fish tissue.
"We have some MDE employees collect fish that are popular sportfish. They are filleted in the manner that most consumers would filet, and the portions are sent to a lab for PCB and mercury concentrations," Ms. Hill said.
The numbers are fed into a formula that leads to the meals-per-year guidelines.
Guidelines are set for all kinds of seafood found in Maryland: blue crabs, white and yellow perch, rockfish, catfish, trout and more.
For example, there are no restrictions on eating crabs from most of the Chesapeake Bay.
The department walks a fine line in warning people about risks while not discouraging people from eating fish, which have many health benefits.
"The tone always seems alarmist that there's an advisory," said John Backus, another environmental specialist for the department. "Sure, for some sensitive populations, there's a risk from some species from some locations."
But most people who eat seafood occasionally and have variety in their seafood meals don't have much to worry about, he said.
Most of the concern is for people who eat fish daily and who might approach or surpass the guidelines.
"The people we're trying to protect and the target is the sustenance fishermen - the people fishing to feed their family every day," Mr. Backus said. to reach the sensitive people."
The full list of seafood guidelines is posted at www.mde.state.md.us, under "Alerts & Advisories."
