Mercury

Ice fishing is picking up around the region and so are the number of questions about the recent fish consumption advisory and levels of methylmercury in the flesh of angler caught fish. Green River Fisheries Supervisor Robert Keith says there is great deal of current, useful information and recommendations included in Wyoming’s Fish Consumption Advisory posted on the Wyoming Game and Fish Department’s website (wgfd.wyo.gov, click on “Fishing and Watercraft,” then “Fish Consumption Advisory” in the right column). “The Wyoming Health Department is working with Game and Fish to provide people information to allow them to make informed decisions about how to include fish in healthy diet,” Keith said. “The bottom line is, fish are an important part of a healthy diet because they contain high quality protein and other nutrients, are low in saturated fat and contain omega-3 fatty acids. Unfortunately, fish also contain methyl mercury and some fish contain much more than others. Anglers need to take into consideration the information contained in the fish consumption advisory when deciding how frequently they are going to eat fish that have elevated levels of methyl mercury.” According to the Wyoming Department of Health, The Fish Consumption Advisory recommends the amount and type of fish to consume to recognize the health benefits of eating fish, while limiting consumption of mercury to safe levels.