Is it safe to eat fish caught in a lake that collects runoff from a sub-division? What about lawn chemicals?

[Del in KS]

Is it safe to eat fish caught in a lake that collects runoff from a sub-division? What about lawn chemicals?

[matouse3]

Who knows what people put on their lawns. I'm sure there are plenty of people out there that are using what grandpa had left over on their lawns today - Even the stuff that you can still buy today has limited regulation. Women of childbearing age and children need to be extra careful about how much fish they take in from these type of areas. There is no way that anyone could say whether its "safe" or not without doing some testing of the fish flesh themselves. Your best bet is to probably look around on the web for some literature about studies that have been done on this type of area or on golf course ponds.

[mattreney]

should be fine there shouldnt be enough lawn chemicals to do any real damage but you shouldnt feed a lot to your kid unless you know it is safe.

[rrmont]

To be honest with you I don't worry about it. If you start to worry about what's in the water, other than fish, then what's the point in even being out there fishing. We have enough to worry about, fishing and eating fish shouldn't be on that list.

[Dannyjr321]

what you need to worry about is methl-mercury, that is a natural form of mercury that comes from decaying leaves so if there is a thick layer of leaves you may want to watch your intake.

[Beekeeper]

Del,

If this is one of those ponds used for flood abatement or run off control and it collects water from street drains and road surface run off there could be a fair amount of heavy metals and other nasty stuff in it. Bottom feeders and large predators typically will be the worst for wear when it comes to heavy metals, phenolics and mercury. If so, this might be a case where you want to practice catch and release.

The lawn care chemical angle doesn't really bother me. We have done a sampling program on fish caught from Golf Course Ponds and found no problem, not even with catfish.

If it is just a neighborhodd pond and looks healthy then have at it!

[Kkeltic]

A lot of those chemicals break down over time, especially when moving through through water. Check with your state water quality lab they should have test results if the lake is that close to residential property.

[BuckTheSystem]

The biggest problem with lawn chemicals is that they encourage plant growth in the water which chokes out the fish. As already stated, the mercury is the main reson to limit your fish intake. This is for all fish caught anywhere. Pan fish are supposed to be "safer" because they have had less time in the water absorbing the mercury.

[007Dom]

a wouldnt

[007Dom]

i mean i wouldnt

[squirrelhunter]

yes this stuff is fine
i mean dont worry unless u see fish floatin arould all over the lake

and any chemicals or any of that stuff will be cooked out of the fish when u cook it

ive eat em for al my life

[samuel wilson]

yes enless your pregnet just put them in some water for a hour or 2