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07-04-2004, 03:22 PM
OUTDOORS
Anglers hot over mercury warnings
Thursday, July 01, 2004
D'Arcy Egan
Plain Dealer Outdoors Writer
Ohio sportsmen are unhappy with the League of Ohio Sportsmen and the National Wildlife Federation after a Columbus news conference last week on mercury contamination included a warning not to eat locally caught fish.
"All of us are concerned about mercury in the environment," said Ray Petering, inland fisheries program administrator for the ODOW. "Distortion of the facts to make a point about the harmful effects of mercury is just plain irresponsible.
"Those are the kind of stunts these outfits pull to get their name in the news and raise money. It is no wonder they lose their credibility."
The LOOS and 173 of its member clubs purportedly signed on to a National Wildlife Federation letter to EPA head Michael Leavitt decrying high levels of mercury in Columbus rainfall. The letter said: "Forty-three states and one territory currently warn the public about unsafe mercury levels and advise people against eating locally caught fish."
The blanket advisory against eating Ohio-caught fish rumbled along the Lake Erie shoreline, where sport fishing is a billion dollar industry and commercial fishermen harvest millions of dollars worth of fish. It was yet another hurdle in a fishing season hit hard by a poor economy and consistently bad weather.
Many Ohio clubs, ranging from the Ohio Chapter of Safari Club International to the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders and the Westlake Sportsmens Club, were unaware they were among those supporting the NWF initiative. LOOS President Larry Mitchell Sr. claims all the clubs were notified in May they would be on the list of supporters unless they told LOOS to have the club removed.
The NWF campaign comes on the heels of a Natural Resources Defense Council e-mail to local news groups warning Ohio anglers they should not eat their sport-caught fish because of mercury contamination.
There is a statewide advisory from the Ohio EPA that cautions Buckeye anglers to eat no more than one meal a week of most sport-caught fish from Ohio waters. The warning is aimed at women of child-bearing age and youngsters 6 and under.
There are no special warnings for most area reservoirs or for Lake Erie walleye under 23 inches, and yellow perch. A Lake Erie warning on smallmouth bass, sheepshead, steelhead trout, walleye that are 23 inches or longer, white bass and white perch calls for a maximum of one meal per month.
In an open letter to provide damage control for the LOOS, Mitchell wrote that the LOOS objective was to strengthen rules limiting mercury emissions. Mitchell wanted to "correct sensationalism in the press that [LOOS and NWF] reports advocated any kind of reduction in walleye fishing or fishing in general" in Ohio.
Zoe Lipman, program manager for the NWF, was quoted at the Columbus news conference as saying that walleye could have dangerously high levels of mercury. Walleyes are very hard to find in Columbus. But they are plentiful in Lake Erie, far to the north, and Ohio's most popular sport-caught fish.
To Mitchell's credit, he told reporters in Columbus the quality of Ohio's air and water is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. But it could be better.
Who wouldn't agree? But the NWF and NRDC shouldn't try to scare sportsmen with dire warnings about eating the fish they catch.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
degan@plaind.com, 216-999-6136
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
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Anglers hot over mercury warnings
Thursday, July 01, 2004
D'Arcy Egan
Plain Dealer Outdoors Writer
Ohio sportsmen are unhappy with the League of Ohio Sportsmen and the National Wildlife Federation after a Columbus news conference last week on mercury contamination included a warning not to eat locally caught fish.
"All of us are concerned about mercury in the environment," said Ray Petering, inland fisheries program administrator for the ODOW. "Distortion of the facts to make a point about the harmful effects of mercury is just plain irresponsible.
"Those are the kind of stunts these outfits pull to get their name in the news and raise money. It is no wonder they lose their credibility."
The LOOS and 173 of its member clubs purportedly signed on to a National Wildlife Federation letter to EPA head Michael Leavitt decrying high levels of mercury in Columbus rainfall. The letter said: "Forty-three states and one territory currently warn the public about unsafe mercury levels and advise people against eating locally caught fish."
The blanket advisory against eating Ohio-caught fish rumbled along the Lake Erie shoreline, where sport fishing is a billion dollar industry and commercial fishermen harvest millions of dollars worth of fish. It was yet another hurdle in a fishing season hit hard by a poor economy and consistently bad weather.
Many Ohio clubs, ranging from the Ohio Chapter of Safari Club International to the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders and the Westlake Sportsmens Club, were unaware they were among those supporting the NWF initiative. LOOS President Larry Mitchell Sr. claims all the clubs were notified in May they would be on the list of supporters unless they told LOOS to have the club removed.
The NWF campaign comes on the heels of a Natural Resources Defense Council e-mail to local news groups warning Ohio anglers they should not eat their sport-caught fish because of mercury contamination.
There is a statewide advisory from the Ohio EPA that cautions Buckeye anglers to eat no more than one meal a week of most sport-caught fish from Ohio waters. The warning is aimed at women of child-bearing age and youngsters 6 and under.
There are no special warnings for most area reservoirs or for Lake Erie walleye under 23 inches, and yellow perch. A Lake Erie warning on smallmouth bass, sheepshead, steelhead trout, walleye that are 23 inches or longer, white bass and white perch calls for a maximum of one meal per month.
In an open letter to provide damage control for the LOOS, Mitchell wrote that the LOOS objective was to strengthen rules limiting mercury emissions. Mitchell wanted to "correct sensationalism in the press that [LOOS and NWF] reports advocated any kind of reduction in walleye fishing or fishing in general" in Ohio.
Zoe Lipman, program manager for the NWF, was quoted at the Columbus news conference as saying that walleye could have dangerously high levels of mercury. Walleyes are very hard to find in Columbus. But they are plentiful in Lake Erie, far to the north, and Ohio's most popular sport-caught fish.
To Mitchell's credit, he told reporters in Columbus the quality of Ohio's air and water is a lot better than it was 20 years ago. But it could be better.
Who wouldn't agree? But the NWF and NRDC shouldn't try to scare sportsmen with dire warnings about eating the fish they catch.
To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:
degan@plaind.com, 216-999-6136
© 2004 The Plain Dealer. Used with permission.
Print This
E-mail This
http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/sports/1088674500132450.xml