[Pharmwaste] Editorial on hormones in SD fish

Tenace, Laurie Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us
Wed Jan 6 10:29:58 EST 2010


http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/39824/group/Outdoors/



Opinion: Our waters aren't as clean as I thought they were
Regular readers know that I am very biased when it comes to South Dakota, and it becomes evident in a hurry that I believe South Dakota is the place to live if hunting and fishing are important. Relatives along the Illinois River have great walleye fishing, but they can't eat the fish. Mercury levels are too high. Lake Michigan has salmon and trout, but one has to be very careful about how much is eaten. With our seemingly pristine lakes and rivers, I have never concerned myself with such problems. Perhaps I should. 
By: Roger Wiltz, The Daily Republic 

Regular readers know that I am very biased when it comes to South Dakota, and it becomes evident in a hurry that I believe South Dakota is the place to live if hunting and fishing are important. Relatives along the Illinois River have great walleye fishing, but they can't eat the fish. Mercury levels are too high.

Lake Michigan has salmon and trout, but one has to be very careful about how much is eaten. With our seemingly pristine lakes and rivers, I have never concerned myself with such problems. Perhaps I should.

In the interest of being factual, I went to the S.D. Game, Fish & Parks Web site, www.sdgfp.info, and clicked on "wildlife." From here I eventually clicked on Fish Consumption Advisories.

It appears that while our waters are relatively safe, there are concerns for pregnant women and how much is eaten, etc. If I could reduce the entire advisory to a few sentences, I would tell you to avoid larger walleyes, pike and bass and stick with perch, bluegills and crappies. I'm guessing that many of the pollutants come from herbicides and pesticides. 

While filleting a Lake Francis Case smallmouth bass early last summer, it appeared that the fish was unusual in that it possessed both male and female characteristics. Understand that I have never taken any ichthyology course work, and it is very possible that what I thought I saw had little to do with fish reproductive organs. Anyway, I never gave it much thought until I saw something about mutated fish on TV's Animal Planet a month or so ago.

The program dealt with pollution in our nation's waterways. Other than the usual noxious chemicals, minute traces of hormonal substances - like those found in birth control drugs - can now be detected in our water supplies. These unwanted chemicals are altering the genetic makeup of the organisms that live in the water.

The program said that 100 percent of the male bass in the Potomac River carried female characteristics. Closer to home, 70 percent of the male bass in Lake Pepin carry female characteristics. Lake Pepin is a Minnesota-Wisconsin reservoir that was created by damming a length of the upper Mississippi River. It's a fine lake in a very scenic setting.

What shocked me most of all was a U.S. map that illustrated the affected waters. It revealed that our entire Missouri River system is contaminated with the hormones. This prompted me to contact our S.D. Game, Fish & Parks people about the little-known hormonal issue. The GF&P not only responded to my inquiry, they also studied the Lake Pepin situation. I was pleased with the response.

First of all, they had no evidence that affected bass inhabit our reservoirs, but they recognized the possibility of a hermaphrodite, or a fish that would exhibit both male and female characteristics. You might remember that some years ago this column featured the photo of a hermaphrodite pheasant that was killed on one of our Sunday afternoon forays. It had the body colors of a hen and the hen's shorter tail, but the head colors of a rooster without the white ring. Hermaphrodites occur in most all species!

The Lake Pepin bass contained ova in the usual male ductwork. I remember my bass having the usual white-colored male organ along with an ova sac. This would be a bit much compared to the Pepin bass, and I'm anxious to get back to my summer bass dissecting. While smallmouth bass are superior table fare, I kill very few smallies, and I'm not going to kill more in the interest of my not so scientific lab work. Most important, I did not interpret my reply from the GF&P to be overly concerned with this seemingly new development.

In discussing around the kitchen table with hunting buddies how birth control pill residuals found their way into our waters, Don suggested that female urine might be means. Don, an SDSU ag major with a scientific mind, is probably correct.

Now that you're aware of it, perhaps you can join in on this project. I can still remember the in-depth fish dissecting that went on in Wagner High School biology classes under the direction of Mr. Nedved. Hopefully many of his former students still remember their fish anatomy.

* * * * * * * * * *

Speaking of fish dissecting, my aging back tells me that standing at a bench in our below-freezing garage is not my idea anymore of where fish should be filleted. I like sitting at the kitchen table, but Betsy frowns on this. She's out shopping right now, and I'm going to try to do such a good job of it that she'll never know until she reads today's column. I'll let you know if I get caught.

See you next week. 



Laurie Tenace
Environmental Specialist
Waste Reduction Section
Florida Department of Environmental Protection
2600 Blair Stone Rd., MS 4555
Tallahassee FL 32399-2400
P: 850.245.8759
F: 850.245.8811
Laurie.Tenace at dep.state.fl.us 

Mercury: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/mercury/default.htm 

Unwanted Medicine: http://www.dep.state.fl.us/waste/categories/medications/default.htm





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