FWP Updates Fish Consumption Rules ...

Anglers concentrating on the Yellowstone River now have an up to date fish consumption advisory for a particular stretch of water. The Fish Consumption Advisory Board (FCAB) is warning that girls of childbearing age and younger youngsters shouldn’t eat shorthead redhorse caught between Bratten Fishing Entry Web site and Itch-Kep-Pe Park in Columbus attributable to excessive hydrocarbon ranges.

The advisory comes after a yr of sampling that started in summer season 2023 following a practice derailment that dumped liquid asphalt into the river. FWP crews most lately collected fish samples on June 24, 2024, at Otter Creek Holmgren Ranch and Huntley. They sampled quite a lot of gamefish together with brown trout, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass, and channel catfish, together with different species like longnose sucker, mountain whitefish, goldeye, and shorthead redhorse.

After analyzing all the info from 2023 and 2024, solely the shorthead redhorse confirmed problematic ranges of hydrocarbons. The excellent news for anglers is that each one earlier fish consumption advisories from Aug. 11 and Sept. 19, 2023, and Could 31, 2024, have been lifted. Moreover, there’s no restriction on utilizing shorthead redhorse as reduce bait.

Whereas hydrocarbons might doubtlessly have an effect on liver, kidney, and blood when consuming massive quantities of contaminated fish over time, these results have solely been documented in animal research, not people. Most chemical substances discovered within the samples haven’t been labeled as cancer-causing.

The FCAB, which incorporates representatives from Montana’s Division of Public Well being & Human Providers, Division of Environmental High quality, and Fish, Wildlife & Parks, isn’t planning extra sampling for this stretch of river. They notice that as a result of fish transfer freely all through river techniques, they will’t pinpoint the precise supply of the contamination.

For anglers holding fish to devour, officers say all different species that had been examined fell inside protected limits, making them positive for desk fare.

For extra info on petroleum hydrocarbons, go to the CDC’s Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons page

 

 

Keith Lusher

Keith Lusher is an award-winning outside journalist who resides in Covington, Louisiana. He owns and operates NorthshoreFishingReport.com and writes a weekly outside column for the Slidell Unbiased Newspaper. He additionally writes for the St.Tammany Parish Tourism Fee’s VisitTheNorthshore.com. He’s the previous host of The Northshore Fishing Report Radio Present and is on the board of the Louisiana Outside Writers Affiliation. Keith contributes to quite a few publications each on-line and in print and prides himself on selling South Louisiana’s distinctive fishery. To contact Keith e-mail: keithlusherjr@gmail.com