Cleaning fish


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Old 10-10-17, 08:59 PM
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Cleaning fish

I happened to notice something lately that I believe is a health hazard. I've seen some local fishermen clean their catch for the day on pressure treated wood. Pressure treated wood is loaded with chemicals that should not be consumed.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 01:34 AM
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Newer pressure treated is not the hazard that the old chromated copper arsenate (CCA) was. I believe the only place it is commonly still used (if that) is pilings for piers. If it very old exposed stuff, I wouldn't be greatly concerned as most of the chemicals in the exposed wood have been leached out. Brand new, sure, I wouldn't be licking it. And I wouldn't want toothpicks or skewers made out of it, old or new.

The newer stuff, esp CA-C and ACQ (most common types) actually use the same kind of biocide used on fruits and vegetable farms and home gardens to prevent mold and mildew. And the Q (quat) part is basically strong insecticidal soap. Again, I wouldn't be eating them by the board foot, but the chance of drowning while fishing or choking on a bone is probably more of a danger.

Most places I've seen that had a cleaning station usually have a cedar or easy to clean (and replace) cutting board style top.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 06:48 AM
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Pollution in the water that the fish live in is probably a bigger problem than that. I won't eat freshwater game fish any more knowing what I know about the quality of water in our lakes and rivers.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 10:29 AM
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Ya, one of the nearby TVA lakes has signs up warning folks not to eat more than a certain amount of fish caught per month. Makes me think if too much fish out of the lake is bad for your health - a little bit probably isn't all that good either.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 11:29 AM
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No warnings are posted here, but you can find all sorts of data online for Nebraska. And it's all based on research of 2 hazardous agents... mercury and pcb's. Mercury is the most common pollutant here, and their research suggests limiting your intake to no more than 8 oz of fish per week. That's not much.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 01:09 PM
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I think fresh water fish from North America are only mildly polluted compared to Ocean Fish, particularly from the Pacific Basin where, since the nuclear disaster at Fukashima Daichi and the continuous bleeding of contaminated radioactive water from the damaged nuclear plant cooling facilities has entered the food chain, and is now, 5 years after the tsunami, appearing in our grocery stores.

https://www.google.com/search?q=fuku...w=1600&bih=769

Some people recommend that you carry a small geiger counter when you go to the fishmonger.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 02:02 PM
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Well, luckily no such warnings or problems AFAIK with the fishing around here on the CO. Some people would probably starve if they couldn't catch their 75 fish a weekend. Yes, there are a few species that there is no limit on but are still good eating. Striper? Lunker? I'm not an angler.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 02:45 PM
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I'm more worried about the farm chemicals in the water around here. Fertilizers and pesticides. The nitrates are off the chart. Not to mention the cattle yard runoff. (There are 83.4 cattle per sq mile in Nebraska... but only 24 people per square mile.) And the county I live in has the most feeder cattle of any county in Nebraska... over 250,000 in a county that is only 25 mi x 25 mi. Cattle outnumber people roughly 20 to 1. Most of them are just up the river from here. Funny how no one tests for that sort of stuff in a farming state.

I quit swimming in the river that's on the edge of town about 35 years ago... I'm sure it's only gotten worse since then. And the fish? Pulling a fish out of that brown water just spoils my appetite.
 
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Old 10-11-17, 03:45 PM
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While there are worse things than cleaning fish on pressure treated wood, things such as pollution are out of our control. At least we can control how & where they are cleaned.
 
 

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