Is it safe to eat fish especially catfish from farm ponds that hold runoff from crop fields? I usually just buy some farm raised

[rabbitpolice88]

Beekeeper,
Did you know that the herbicide Grazon P plus D has an active ingredeant that stays in the hay and all the way through the horse or cow into it's manure? If you put the manure into a garden of any kind it will kill the garden because the active ingrediant is still there. This is just Grazon ( restricted yes but there are a lot worse things out there than Grazon) think of what that chemical would do to you! The Chemical does not just go away over night or even in a week. It takes up to a month depending on how much was applied. Then there are insecticides that stay on the plants for longer periods of time to kill the bugs that would otherwise eat and destroy them. All this to say that the herbicides and pesticides do not just go away or evaporate into nothingness.

[goldylocks]

I don't know much about farming chemicals.
But we have a lot of farms around the Wabash River and a friend of mine practally lives off the fish she catches out of the river. (the DNR mainly puts out warnings for Mercury) I have heard of people putting the fish and turtles in clean water for a couple of days and that will clean them out. Don't know if that is really true or not.

[matouse3]

Putting them in clean water for a few days will do nothing for Mercury.

[Beekeeper]

Matouse.

You make some valid points concerning the persistance of the long chain hydrocarbons from decades ago. Unfortunately there are areas where the chemicals were dumped or over(mis)used where problems are persistent. Those chemicals are not typical of the average farm pond however.

I am well familiar with over spray and drift issues. I am a degreed professional who has worked in the agro-forest industry for 23 years. I also grew up on a farm and was and still are involved in the use of farm chemicals and fertilizers personally.

I am involved every day in helping producers make decisions concerning the use of fertilizers and agroforest chemicals. Cost is very relavent in limiting use, if you don't believe it check out chemical prices vs. profit margins. I am also well aware of chemical half life and persistance as well as toxicology and mode of action. I do not make recommendations or speak from a non-informed platform.

My recommendaion to my friend Del concerning the keys to look for signs of chemical contamination are useful, valid and meaningful, you your self used them in your description. I also speak from experience in this area. I have been privy to or have personally conducted sound science based research on the persistance of farm/forestry chemicals in such aquatic environments, this work also includes heavy metals, methy mercury and chemicals from bygone eras. I am not blinded by my industry nor by science and understand that there are real concerns over the use of such products. That is why I have taken the time to further educate myself to such. I do not make my decisions from what I read in the popular press, the internet (unless from and "edu" site) or TV, not to mention my shirt sleeve. I stand on educated and informed ground and you and I will ahve to agree to disagree.

Rabbit police,

I am well aware of the mode of action of GRAZON P + D. Picloram, the active ingredient of which you speak does persist and go through the digestive tract of cattle. It has been determined by reseach to cause no problems in such animals. Research has shown that it also does not translocate to streams and other water sources. It does show about 4-5 months of activity against labeled weeds and grasses on site after application.

The problem you speak of with vegetable gardens is most closely associated with tomatoes which have a very low tolerance of picloram, unfortunately. This problem is usually associated with green unrotted manures or the use compost which has not completed the composting process as you stated. Green unrotted manures are not recommended for application to vegetable gardens because of naturally occuring disease pathogens such as lysteria which can cause devastating illness.

Insecticides with systemic action typically are not used in conjunction with food crops and are more closely associated with fiber crops. If they are used on food or forage crops the products are applied in the early stages of production and will break down by harvest. Sorry Rabbit... they do break down. We are not speaking of DDT, Deldrin, Aldrin or lead arsenate here.

Unfortunately life does have its risks. We must weigh these risks each day of our lives. I am a champion of clean food and water. I am also a champion of agriculture. Farmers are and always have been champions of the environment. The good earth is where each successive generation MUST make their living.

[goldylocks]

I did not mean that the mercury would be cleaned out by putting them in clean water. People around here always say the the river is dirty etc and many people wont eat the fish some do and they say putting the fish and or turtles in clean water cleans them out (not the mercury) they say they taste better by doing that. I am more of a lake fisher I don't worry about it. If I die from eating fish then so be it!!!

(The DNR just says to limit the fish eatin from the river due to mercury levels)

[Jacky Clinton]

Beekeeper, I'm going to have to disagree with you. Though buffer zones and minimizing spray usage is a grand idea, it does not get implemented in most areas where I live. Farmers farm right up to the water edge (to the point where they drop tires in the ditch) and they over spray right into the ditch (you can tell by the dead grasses in the ditch channel). These ditches run right to ponds, streams, and rivers that all of us fish out of. I've grown up on a farm, and my grandfather and father have never mentioned limiting herbicide, insecticide, fertilizer for the good of the watershed. They spray it on and walk away. This is something that this generation needs to change- but thats for another conversation.
You're claim that if the habitat "looks good" and "no dead fish are floating" then go ahead and eat - is very misinformed. Those persistent compounds from the 60's and 70's are called persistent for a reason: They're still here, and will continue to be here for decades. Dioxins, Furans, PCB's, and all the metals you mentioned are a very real problem and the water or substrate doesn't have to stink or look bad in order for them to be there.
Most importantly- Women of childbearing age and children should not be risking eating considerable quantities of fish from impacted areas. Middle aged males, like myself can eat plenty of impacted fish without any issues, but much reduced amounts for children or pregnant women can have effects. I'm not saying that no fish is safe to eat, just saying that you need to do your homework on the areas you fish. There is a lot of good info out there.

Hello Del! I don't think it's good to eat catfish from farm ponds because this farm ponds holds the runoff from crop fields. As you know the fertilizers we used these days are rich with different chemicals. It's possible the water of the farm pond possess some amount of these highly concentrated chemicals so it's better not to eat that fishes. Also some fertilizers are available in market which don't contain any harmful chemical and adds up benefits to the plants. Due to lack of knowledge on it people chooses the wrong one which ultimately create problems for them. You may find some good organic fertilizer products here: http://www.gsplantfoods.com/liquid-love-all-purpose-plant-food.html

[Solist Watts]

I did not mean that the mercury would be cleaned out by putting them in clean water. People around here always say the the river is dirty etc and many people wont eat the fish some do and they say putting the fish and or turtles in clean water cleans them out (not the mercury) they say they taste better by doing that. I am more of a lake fisher I don't worry about it. If I die from eating fish then so be it!!!

(The DNR just says to limit the fish eatin from the river due to mercury levels)

So we can't get rid or lessen the Mercury?