I grew up in a family that fished almost every weekend. We were a working poor family. Not making payments having utilities cut off every so often. So fishing would supplement our meals.
Now days when I look at the status of our lakes and rivers I think about those who may be in that position now or worse off.
There are people who sport fish all over the U.S. . But there’s also people who rely on it to feed their families. Their health and lives are being jeopardized by what’s in the water. Most probably don’t know what’s in it or the health risks. If you go down to Texas City Dike or the coastal waters near Galveston here in Texas those people probably have no clue to the health risks they are taking.
PCB, dioxin, mercury, and dieldrin (a pesticide) are some of the toxins found here in Texas. You might think it’s just along the coast because of the industries on the coast. But it’s spread across the state. Lake Livingston is a hotspot for catfish. It has a high catch limit. I think the highest in the state. Yet it has a serious problem with pcb and dioxin in catfish. Enough to warrant the Texas Department of Health Services to issue consumption bans and advisories. Here’s a link to Texas consumption advisory.
Texas Consumption advisory
I have never heard a Texas (Or for that matter any republican) Republican ever mention a concern for the people of their state. It always we need to make it easier on companies.
All states have some form of consumption advisory. You can check yours by searching for “State” fish consumption advisory. Some toxins like mercury can be natural. But you should know anyways. There are Louisiana bayous that you shouldn’t even get in the water. The pollution is that bad.
I don’t know what can be done about the existing forever chemicals we already have in our rivers and lakes. But we have stop what is being added every day.