Author: The Associated Press / Source: nola.com
A recently created interactive map shows people where pollution has made a Louisiana waterway unsafe for swimming. It also tells fishers whether it’s safe to eat their catch.
The map shows 58 lakes, bayous and other waterways where contaminated fish have been caught, the bottom is too polluted for safe swimming or both.
Most points restrict fish or shellfish eating; two also warn against swimming. Two others warn only against swimming.The largest advisory covers all state waters in the Gulf of Mexico. That’s almost 1,200 square miles.
Clicking on a fish-and-fish-hook icon brings up the advisory. Zoom in, and larger bodies of water in affected areas show up in dark blue. Those areas also are clickable but are approximations; adjacent areas of dark and light blue aren’t boundaries, scientist Al Hindrichs of the state Department of Environmental Quality said Friday (Feb. 8).
“Be sure to read the details,” he said. That’s because recommendations depend on what’s been found in fish from a given area and how much of it there was, so they vary widely from place to place.
For instance, the state says nobody should eat any fish from Capitol Lake in Baton Rouge, while in the Upper Calcasieu Estuary, only crab fat is on the do-not-eat list. For 83 miles along the Tensas River, the advisory states only, “Long-term fish consumption may cause health risk.”
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The Gulf of Mexico advisory is complicated. Most people are advised against eating more than a total of four eight-ounce servings a month of fish caught in state waters, except for king mackerel. People should eat no more than two meals a month of king mackerel – and…
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