Montana fish guide warns anglers to check local waters

MONTANA — Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks released its Sport Fishing Consumption Guidelines for this year, outlining which fish are considered safe to eat in different waterways because of pollutants.

The agency said anglers could lower potential health risks by paying attention to the kind of fish they catch and where they catch it.

Trevor Selch, a fisheries pollution biologist with Montana FWP, said there are some general guidelines you can follow.

“Those larger fish, they're older, they've had a lot more time to accumulate toxins. They bio-accumulate, so those top-level predators, meaning [the] fish that eat other fish are the ones that are most susceptible to bio-accumulate a lot of these contaminants,” said Selch.

Selch also explained that Montana FWP tested for PFAS for the first time in this year’s guide. PFAS are often described as forever chemicals and are found in many everyday items.

While much is not yet known about their effects, it is thought that PFAS accumulation can have negative health consequences.

Chris Stark, a staff scientist for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, said that PFAS contamination was a huge concern of his.

“The very bad part of it comes when you read the regulation that says four parts per trillion. I've heard it described as a drop and a couple of hundred swimming pools. As best as we know, [PFAS are] far more powerful to do bad things to humans,” said Stark.

Selch said the safest approach was to check for advisories tied to a specific fishing area before eating what was caught.

“Just be aware of the area you're fishing. If you live in an area and you fish a specific area all the time, then do your due diligence and see if there's an advisory in place for that. If there's not, you could reach out to the local biologist to see if any sampling is planned,” said Selch.

The full list of consumption guidelines was available on the FWP website for anglers planning to fish for their next meal.