State Warns Against Eating Certain Lake Trout

DETROIT (WWJ)- There's a warning against eating the trout you pull out of Lake Michigan. State officials warn against eating trout 20 inches or longer because of the risk of PCB's, chlordane and dioxins.

WWJ Newsradio 950's Beth Fisher spoke with Michigan director of Clean Water Action, Cyndi Roper about the lake trout.

"The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that would reduce the ability of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to step in and to ensure that states are keeping their waters clean and so we hope that this doesn't get through the U.S. Senate," said Roper.

She says it's disappointing and she worries about some efforts in the State Senate and in Congress to weaken cleanup standards.

Roper says some of the advisories are confusing since Wisconsin warns against eating trout that are 29 inches or more while Michigan is warning about trout 20 inches or more.

"If we are now hearing that the trout are of concern, it doesn't surprise me given that we still have many issues with our fish in the Great Lakes but it is really disappointing that   and I think that we all need to redouble our efforts to clean up and protect the Great Lakes," said Roper.

"It is increasingly difficult to find these advisories.  They used to be printed and given out to people when they got their fishing license.  You could get a copy of the advisory and you knew what to do," added Roper. "It gave you advice and you could either follow it or not, but now that information is available almost exclusively online and we see that as a huge problem for ... making sure the public has the information they need to protect themselves and their families."