Eating fish from Brisbane River

[HiRAEdd]

I thought I'd start another thread but this pertains to a reply (below) from the thread "Fishing Brisbane CBD? (http://www.ausfish.com.au/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1155102477/0)"


TIP: Do not eat whatever you catch in the Brissy river, unless its close to the mouth.
This is a subject I'm very interested in. I'm well aware of the concerns of pollutants contaminating fish (especially mercury and other heavy metals) but I've never seen any proof and/or studies done in or around Brisbane in particular.

One argument is that all fisheries everywhere are contaminated due to polluants being carried in the upper atmosphere and raining down in even the most pristine areas.

There's also the argument that because fish move around, a fish caught from say Redcliffe is not necessarily any cleaner than a fish caught in the Brisbane River.

We all know Sydney Harbour has big problems with dioxins in particular. But does anyone know the real situation for the Brisbane River?

[marlinqld]

I tend to agree somewhat. A fish caught in Redcliffe may have come from somewhere else.


As for the Brissy River, I only fish from Colmslie to the mouth. If the fish looks healthy thats good enough for me.

If it has 7 extra fins and 2 extra eyes i throw it back.

I dont think the rivers as bad as it looks.

[fish2eat]

If studies had been done, I don't think they have been released.

Ausfish is a chat board, so many of the opinions you here on here are just peoples own opinion, NOT fact. So when RK Hill tells you not to eat the fish, that his HIS opinion, formed from I don't know what.

Certainly the water in the Brisbane River has been affected by human habitation, like most waterways. However, the water is far cleaner than that used for raising the thousands of tonnes of Vietnamese Catfish sold in supermarkets each year.

I have friends from Yeronga who live on the river and eat all the legal crabs they catch, have done for at least 5 years without any ill effects. Crabs are more likely to collect toxins than fish, which can, and do, range far more widely.

Dolphins now swim up as far as the Toowong reach, and they do not swim where the pollution is at high levels, presumably yhey are feeding as well.

Draw your own conclusions, I have never heard of anyone dying from eating fish from the Brisbane River.

[Louis]

I wish the Government would do a study on the levels and types of toxins found in fish caught from the Brisbane River so that we would all know for certain once and for all.



Louis

[Jitlands]

A dose of the squirts every now and then isn't a bad thing, gives the system a good clean out.

Chow down and see what happens

[Heno]

I grew up living on a boat that was moored near newfarm Park ?? I think it was and then moved to another mooring on Gibson Island (Doboy Creek) . We used to swim at the Sir James Holt ferry landing and ate most fish and crabs that we caught. Still kickin now so it cant be all bad. TWITCH :)

[HiRAEdd]

For those that weren't aware, the Brisbane River used to be a vastly different water way to what it has become as the article below details. One can only imagine the tourism value of the water way as described below. I would argue it would make the industrial and agricultural value of Brisbane pale into insignificance :( On the plus side, the river has gotten healthier in the past 10 years since dredging was stopped. One can see the positive results in the mud banks turning back to sand in the river and north of the mouth all the way up to Sandgate.


Oxley's Discovery Of The Brisbane River

Date of Broadcast: Thursday, 19 April 2001

When Captain Cook sailed by Moreton Island he noted that the water tasted fresh, and although he never saw it, he concluded that a river must be close by. Since 1770 many explorers had tried to find this river, all had failed. In 1823, Governor Brisbane sent John Oxley to search for the river that he believed flowed into Moreton Bay. If this river could be found he thought it would make a perfect place for a convict settlement.

It was not until Oxley rescued a shipwrecked timber getter, who showed him where the river mouth was, that Oxley realized that he, and Cook, Flinders, Bingle and Edwardson, in fact everybody who had looked for the river had sailed right past it. Nature herself seemed to have made certain that the river would never be found

Fishermans Island and the lay of the land had hidden the river mouth from the eyes of explorers. The river that had flowed for millions of years was about to release its secrets.

And what secrets they were, for the river and its surrounds were of incalculable beauty. The first thing Oxley noticed was the coral reef at the mouth and after crossing the mouth, he found a wide river with deep channels, crystal clear water and a white sandy river bed that reflected the sun's rays even though it was 10 metres deep. The riverbanks were covered in jungle. Towering above the jungle were huge white gums interspersed with the famous Brisbane Pine. But the tree that impressed Oxley and his men the most, was the Moreton Bay Fig. Its branches seemed to spread forever and under its thick foliage whole ecosystems flourished.

From where the Victoria Bridge now stands to West End, Oxley saw such beauty that it took his breath away. From the giant trees hung vines and creepers of every description, staghorns by the thousands jostled for space with the wild passionflowers. And here and there extra dark green patches of palms and giant fern forests were sprinkled with the delicate colours of thousands of orchids. And on the river itself Oxley’s boat glided through millions of pink and white water lilies.

So the river that never was, was finally found and the river city of Brisbane was about to begin its journey.

[Louis]

It sounds like the Brisbane River used to be a beautiful place.



Louis

[choppa]

Dolphins now swim up as far as the Toowong reach, and they do not swim where the pollution is at high levels, presumably yhey are feeding as well.

.

i heard the dolphins do this to poke fun at all the unhealthy creatures,,,its their way of unwinding i 'spose,,,,,,,,

good be just a viscious rumour though

[DICER]

what makes you so sure about that the dolphins don't swim where pollution is?. IMO thats BS.

I also have a concern about the river, and it will remain that way until someone does the testing. Heavy metals, PCBs, dieldrin you name it.

http://www.ausfish.com.au/forum/YaBB.cgi?num=1153319203

Fact: ~20 years ago I catch catfish that were sick with lip and eye cancer in the jindalee section. It was pretty much why I stopped fishing. Dieldrin was also used on farming land in the moggil area and this substance is known to accumulate higher up the food chain over long periods of time. Also fact is the 74 floods washed away toxic waste drums from storage in the tenyson area and they were never recovered.

[Murks]

Ausfishers:
Not sure about what others think BUT I am of the belief that fish actually swim ::)....and as easy as fish swim upstream, they too can swim downstream :)...how can people know that all the squire, jew, threadies, snapper etc that people are catching around Mud etc and subsequently are eating don't in fact spend their holidays or live in the Brisbane River.
How often do we go to "the spot" and there are amazingly...NO FISH ...mmmmm :-/ were could they be :-/...hang on thats right they swim ;)...I wonder if they are visiting their mates up around the Toowong reaches of the river or maybe around the Hamilton region...
Not trying to be a smart #$#% ;) here as I too have often wondered as to the edible qualities of the Brissy River fish, I spose T1 and TINN have caught their fair share of late and they still seem okay ;)
Anyway, interesting reading and a very interesting thread.. :)
Brett

[Dirtysanchez]

About 2 years ago when they dredged up a heap of the river bottom to deepen it and develop the extensions to the Port of Brisbane area, they discovered that the soil a few metres down was very contaminated.

Each load has to be sampled and tested by EPA before they can do anything with it. If levels of toxins are acceptable, they used it in reclaiming the land used in the extensions of the terminals. If the levels are too high they take it miles out to sea, and sdisperse it into the ocean over many Kms.

Some of the loads were so toxic they actually struggledto figure out what to do with it, so they dug a 50foot deep hole in the port area and buried it. Samples showed Dieldren, PCP's and Organo Chloro phospates 2000 times acceptable levels :'( :'( :'(

So, eat if you wish, but not often, basically the top layers of river bed are fine, but deep down the layers of sediment over the years contain some very nasty shit.

Wouldn't eat muddies based on what I read :o :o :o

Russ

[R_K_HILL]

Thankyou Sanchez! And I totally agree: "Eat if you wish"

The tip was placed on the thread only to protect my fellow fishers from the unknown...

To me, eating a fish from a place where there is possible risk is like jumping into a water hole not knowing how deap or what lies beneath.

[DICER]

alternatively they, the fish, might just happen to swim up luggage point......

eat your heart out.....