Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

I live just a couple miles from the Ohio River, and as I stand by the water's edge and look down into the murk, right now it'd be a cold day in hell before I'd set foot in the water unless there was fire chasing me from behind. But I got to thinking, WTSHTF, foraging for food would be a major concern, and fish from the river might be one of the better sources of protein available in some cases. Maybe if hunger is of a big enough concern, pollution won't really be a worry high on my radar, but it got me to wondering, is there a way to at least partially detoxify fish to make it less, well, toxic and more fit for consumption?

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

When speaking of toxins in fish you are likely referring to mercury which is organically dissolved in the flesh of the animal. If this is the case the answer is quite simply, "No".

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

Agreed, in the case of heavy metals and organic compounds (dioxins, etc) the material is incorporated into the tissues. When I was a "river rat" years ago, we would take the larger catfish that we caught and put them into a stock tank of clean, cold water. We'd leave the fish in the tank for a day or two before cleaning them. The idea was to get the "mud" out of the fish, but in reality, I can't see how it would make that much difference.

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

Actually there is a way. When you clean the fish remove the belly meat(under the ribs) and the lateral line that runs down the outside middle of each fillet. The fattier tissues is where a larger portion of the toxins accumulate. This will lessen your intake of contaminates but eliminate it.

Also keep in mind that the toxins compound in the larger fish, smaller fish have less toxins. They build to higher levels as the big fish consume the little fish.

BP

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

I was just going to say that Bushpilot. I've been catfishing in the mississippi and we genrally release them, but if we catch a nice small one (<10lbs) we might eat it. The trick is to get rid of the fat. Unfortunately, the belly is the tastiest part of a fish.

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

Keep in mind, too, that catfish are bottom feeders, and thus are more likely to feed on toxins that have settled down there. Cross the crap eaters off the list.

Unless, of course, you have nothing else to eat. Cancer later is better than starvation now.

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

mmmm....crap....

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

That's actually very funny, once you consider your Cthulhu avatar.

Re: Reducing toxins in fish from polluted bodies of water
 

I think that in most waterways in North America, cancer would be the least of your worries. The biggest pollutant consumed in fish is mercury. Mercury poisoning causes a lot of effects in the near term and is a potent teratogen (interferes with the development of the fetus). In a SHTF situation, people may end of eating a lot of fish. If you live in an area where there are current fish advisories, that shtuff ain't going away, and you need to be aware of them in your shelter area. We can consume some without damage, because our bodies can actually eliminate mercury, but it's a very slow process. If a bunch of people are suddenly eating fish because of scarcity of other food sources, there's likely to be a bunch of incidents of Minamata disease, or the like.