Eat Safe Fish in the Saginaw Bay Area
(Includes the Saginaw Bay and the Tittabawassee & Saginaw River)
As parents, we always want what is best for our children and the food we provide for them is no exception. The Bay County Health Department wants to encourage families to incorporate fish into their weekly meals and equip them with the tools to help them do it safely.
As part of a healthy diet, incorporating fish twice into your weekly routine is beneficial for adults and children. The American Heart Association encourages families to try fish high in omega-3 fatty acids (salmon, for example). These fats are great for babies and children, which can boost learning power and provide key building blocks for healthy brain growth. Additionally, eating fish high in omega-3s twice a week may help to prevent heart disease in adults—making fish a great choice for the whole family!
Due to popular manufacturing techniques used many decades ago, there are chemicals found in the sediment in the Saginaw Bay Area. These chemicals have worked their way into our food system, most notably into fish. Until the water is restored to its pristine state, we are offering free information to individuals and families who enjoy consuming fish from the Saginaw Bay area. Whether your family eats fish from the Saginaw Bay Area or only eats fish purchased from a store or restaurant there are easy-to-follow advisories which will allow your family to enjoy fish safely.
When you catch a fish from the Saginaw Bay Area, you will not be able to taste or smell any chemicals. The only way to find out if your fish is safe to eat is by using the Eat Safe Fish Guide. By choosing the right fish and then cleaning and cooking it the right way, you can reduce the chemicals found in the fish by nearly half! Just follow the 3 C’s:
1) Choose: Check the Eat Safe Fish Guide to discover which fish you should throw back and which you should bring home.
2) Clean: Cleaning your fish properly is very important in reducing the chemicals within the fish. Trim off the dark fatty tissue along the backbone, sides and belly. Take out and discard all of the organs, such as the liver and stomach.
3) Cook: Using methods which allow the fat to drip away will reduce the chemicals within the fish even further.
If only eating store-bought or restaurant fish follow the Eat 8! system which assigns a point value to each type of fish based on the FDA fish fillet mercury data. Only eat 8 points or less each month to reduce your mercury intake.
To get a free copy of the Eat Safe Fish Guide and to access all of this information and more, please visit: www.michigan.gov/eatsafefish or call Melanie at the Bay County Health Department at (989) 895-4281
