A Good Catch

July and August are the perfect months for fishing. There's nothing like the fresh catch of the day , steamed or grilled on your barbecue. Fresh seafood is fine however how safe is it? There are still areas in our oceans that can be deemed hazardous thanks to all sorts of nasty stuff. Where can you go for not only the freshest catch of the day but also the most healthiest?

In recent years humanity has been aware of the high levels of toxicity in our waters. There has been a lot of clean up, especially in the Atlantic, still is it enough? Most shore areas experience some kind of run off from the land. This includes chemicals found in commercial fertilizers and various cosmetics and bath products (most notably the parabens which will be banned in the US as of December 2008). This happens mostly when sewerage is channeled in local waters. Always be on the lookout where you fish. Stop fishing if you're off shore and you notice that there are red flags on the nearest beach. This indicates that raw sewerage is in the water and bathing along with fishing is unsafe. Radioactive waste is also dumped into oceans. The waste is transferred to cooling ponds and allowed to sit for a certain length of times , It is then dumped into the nearest sea.

What fish absorb the most pollutants?Let's face facts.Any fish does. It's not a matter of choosing one over the other. Crabs could contain just as many chemicals as sea bass. If you're concerned then cut out fishing all together. Supermarkets will provide you with fish and shellfish that have been raised in all natural or "free range" hatcheries.The quandary is if you like to fish what do you do? Catch and release? My advice is fish in waters you know are "environmentally safe" and try to limit fishing to maybe three times a month during the warmer weather.

Fresh fish is always a good catch. The problem lies not with them but with our waters.Remember to try to find a good catch in relatively clean waters.