By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer- Published April 10th, 2006
It's not likely that many people are going to fry up brown bullhead catfish from the South River, not after several were diagnosed with nasty cancerous tumors. But just in case, the Maryland Department of the Environment has new guidelines for just how many of those catfish it's safe to eat.
MDE now recommends that kids up to age 6 should eat fewer than eight meals per month of brown bullhead catfish from the South River.
The new recommendation isn't directly linked to the tumors, which were first spotted a year ago. It's because of the level in the water of PCBs, which are harmful chemical compounds.
There are no recommendations for adults to limit eating brown bullheads, because the PCB levels aren't high enough to trigger concerns for adults.
The cause of the tumors in the South River catfish still is under investigation by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Chesapeake Bay Office.
Biologists from Fish and Wildlife first spotted the fish last spring while working on a project with other species of fish in the river. They collected the abnormal fish and later tested them.
Of the 30 fish tested, 19 had some form of cancer. Of those 19, 13 had skin cancer, three had liver cancer and three had both liver and skin cancer.
The suspected cause of the cancer was polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.
PAHs are found in petroleum, coal and other fossil fuels. They're caught up in stormwater runoff and enter rivers and creeks, where they build up in the sediment. Bottom-dwelling critters, such as brown bullhead catfish, are then exposed to them.
But PAH levels in the South River weren't high, sending researchers back to the drawing board for another cause.
The level of PCBs was found to be high in the river, however, leading to the warning. PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were used as coolants and lubricants in electrical equipment. Their manufacture was stopped in 1977 due to human health concerns.
There's also a new recommendation for eating eels from the river - three per month for most adults and two per month for women of child-bearing age and young children.
The new guidelines are in addition to existing recommendations to limit eating spot from the South River.
There also are various guidelines for eating certain fish from the Patuxent, Magothy, West/Rhode and Patapsco rivers, and statewide guidelines for eating rockfish.
Kendl P. Philbrick, state secretary of the environment, said no matter where a fish comes from, you should never eat one that looks sick or diseased. And all fish should be cleaned properly and cooked thoroughly.
"Maryland families can safely include fish in their diets if they follow basic common-sense precautions," he said.
For more information, visit www.mde.state.md.us and click on "New Fish Advisory."
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Published April 10, 2006, The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
Copyright © 2006 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.
