Catfish at Princess Point edible?

[Sklazinga]

Hello all! I will post a proper first post tomorrow, for now I just have a quick question.

Do you think the catfish at Princess Point in Hamilton are safe to eat? Or any fish caught there or similar areas off lake Ontario in Hamilton? I know we often joke about the water quality of the lake near Hamilton, just wondering if there is actually anything to be cautious of!

Thanks!

[edit] I found the Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish online and have been reading it. The fish are "okay" to eat, but by the numbers given it is clear that there are far more toxins in the fish within Hamilton Harbour (which includes all of Cootes Paradise) than there are in the fish in Lake Ontario. From reading this and talking to others more used to fishing the area than I, I have figured out that if I plan to eat I need to cast into Lake Ontario as defined by this booklet. My friend says that even fishing from under the lift bridge makes all the difference. So, when I want some fish to eat I may take the bus to under the Skyway, or might even just go out to the Burlington waterfront.

Something else my friend said is not to eat summer catfish cause they taste like mud. His explanation was that in the summer they are digging in the mud for food, something they do not do in the spring. Would others suggest against eating summer catfish? Is the taste all that different? Is my friend's story legit or out to lunch? [/edit]

 

[Blair]

there's a bit of truth (Fact) and a bit of Fiction!


Catfish are equal opportunist... LIKE ALL FISH! (dont let anyone ever tell you differently)

They do mainly forage on the bottom, and during the HOT SUMMERS - water temps are definately up.



Hamilton Harbour does have many years of the "Steel Slag" etc, so it really is a little more "Polluted" if you take that into consideration.

However, It is part of lake Ontario ... and the Fish & Waters do circulate.



I personnally, would not be eating "Too much" from there, but .... 1-2 every now and then would not make much of an impact. Smaller fish have less toxins.



Welcome to the Sight!

 

[Sklazinga]

there's a bit of truth (Fact) and a bit of Fiction!


Catfish are equal opportunist... LIKE ALL FISH! (dont let anyone ever tell you differently)

They do mainly forage on the bottom, and during the HOT SUMMERS - water temps are definately up.



Hamilton Harbour does have many years of the "Steel Slag" etc, so it really is a little more "Polluted" if you take that into consideration.

However, It is part of lake Ontario ... and the Fish & Waters do circulate.



I personnally, would not be eating "Too much" from there, but .... 1-2 every now and then would not make much of an impact. Smaller fish have less toxins.



Welcome to the Sight!

Personally, if I'm looking for a couple meals, I'll probably just plan on hitting Lake Ontario proper instead of anywhere in Cootes Paradise.

The guide I found (http://www.ene.gov.on.ca/stdprodconsume/groups/lr/@ene/@resources/documents/resource/std01_079301.pdf) also separates the harbour from the lake at the land under the lift bridge and sky bridge. And if the map in the guide is accurate, it seems like a rather restricted setup in regards to fish and water circulating very well. The consumption rates the guide gives are hugely different from Hamilton Harbour and Lake Ontario, or even Hamilton Harbour and Jordan Harbour (which I had never heard of before, but I know where it is).

So what about the taste of catfish caught in the summer? Any opinion or experience there?

After this post I saw that there is an entire board dedicated to catfish and carp, so I'm thinking of putting a post in there as well.

Once this post is approved, only 2 more to go till I no longer must wait for approval to see my posts hit the boards!

 

[Schr0d1ng3r]

If I caught a nice-looking eating fish, I would definitely fry it up. Maybe use a few more spices though . Also, I wouldn't eat a whole lot of it. Generally, the posted guidelines for eating them will be on the conservative side, for liability's sake. Actually, I will definitely be eating a select few when I head back to Hamilton for school in September, so this isn't simply empty talk. I'm putting my polluted fish where my mouth is!

Also, I caught a small/medium sized catfish out of the Speed only a few weeks ago, when we had those record-breaking temperatures. Tasted great! Now, I've never had a spring kitty, so I can't compare. All I can say is that there's nothing wrong with a summer one.

Hope I helped!

 

[Sklazinga]

If I caught a nice-looking eating fish, I would definitely fry it up. Maybe use a few more spices though . Also, I wouldn't eat a whole lot of it. Generally, the posted guidelines for eating them will be on the conservative side, for liability's sake. Actually, I will definitely be eating a select few when I head back to Hamilton for school in September, so this isn't simply empty talk. I'm putting my polluted fish where my mouth is!

Also, I caught a small/medium sized catfish out of the Speed only a few weeks ago, when we had those record-breaking temperatures. Tasted great! Now, I've never had a spring kitty, so I can't compare. All I can say is that there's nothing wrong with a summer one.

Hope I helped!

Oh, of course their numbers are conservative and/or 'worst case scenarios', but conservative or not, I'd have to assume that the numbers are still representative of the data, and the numbers say that anywhere within the Hamilton Harbour the contaminants of fish are greatly increased compared to the same fish in Lake Ontario proper, by a factor of about 5 on average. It's not that much more further to fish on the other side of the lift bridge instead of in Cootes Paradise. I figure any time I plan to fish for the purpose of taking home to eat I'll just go there instead.

 

[Alfiegee]

Hey Klazinga. I fish Cootes and the Harbor often and actually target Channel Cats. They are a great catch and give a good fight. As for eating them from those waters I don't think so. There is a lot of run-off from Hamilton and Dundas into those waters and at the bottom of Hamilton Harbor lies one of the most toxic places in Canada, Randle Reef near the steel plants. The government and the steel companies are still trying to figure out what to do with the reef. Last I heard they were thinking of pumping cement down there to enclose this toxic site, obviously a temporary solution. Cement may last our lives, but the toxins will still be there when the cement finally breaks down. I might also make mention of the fact that the beaches in the area are considered unsafe to swim at, Bayfront, Pier 4. I know people do consume fish from there, but for me it is a total 100% catch and release fishery. Unless I was starving and on welfare.

Alfie.

 

[Mr_Mel_32_Hammertown]

i caught a yellow perch close to the lift bridge and ate it today. The ontario fish gide gives you the safe amounts of fish according to their size/species that you can consume. If you're super nervous about toxins like me,just eat way less than ur limit for the month and you should be fine.

 

[Mr_Mel_32_Hammertown]

i went to pier 8 by williams last thursday and ate a yellow perch from there, and i brought home and ate four more of them tonight. They were all under 12 inches though.

 

[hamtownhog]

I would not eat any fish from the harbor ! Look into the steel industries baby elephant (Randal reef) and look at the amounts of toxins and cold tar that have been on the bottom of that bay for years . Cat fish do feed of the bottom . AS for those that are eating perch , Perch haven't been in the water for years and years and feeding of the sentiment on the bottom ....Do some real good research of your own before taking the word of any of us before making that choice !

Just my 2 cents you asked for it


Cheers !

 

[Bow Man]

Would not eat ANYTHING out of Hamilton Harbour period.( its Hamilton Harbour for Christ sakes ).

 

[hamtownhog]

Not everyone is educated on the amounts of Cold Tar and various other proven

The Hamilton Harbour Area of Concern was designated in 1987. This Area is home to
the second most contaminated coal-tar site in Canada after the Sydney Tar Ponds in
Nova Scotia. In 1989, a detailed sampling study of the sediment in the area of Randle
Reef identified serious coal tar contamination. The contaminated sediment is bounded
by piers 15 and 16 at the mouth of the Sherman inlet. This placement is in the centre of
the south shoreline of Hamilton Harbour and is surrounded by a major Canadian
shipping centre supporting one of the largest concentrations of heavy industry in the
country. The resident contamination is a result of historical industrial deposits of coal
tar, containing polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), and heavy metals which are a major
concern to human users and aquatic life in Hamilton Harbour. The polluted sediments
cover an area greater than 10 ha named Randle Reef after Harvey T. Randle, a local
boater and member of the Royal Hamilton Yacht Club who ran aground on the raised
coal tar reef in 1964. The area at issue is a lifeless zone, containing PAH
concentrations that reach over 73,000 ppm. The water lot where contaminated
sediments are found is owned by the Hamilton Port Authority

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/CB2B6D55-614D-414E-9665-93780CDD1185/0/Apr19EDRMS_n86769_v1_8_1__PW10042.pdf


Cheers !

 

[rybak]

They actually should have started work on Randle Reef this summer already, but as always there are delays. This time it's about the budget, but supposedly it is happening. It will get cleaned up. The RFP for this bid will be a monster, with phase 1 budgeted for $30 million CAD. See Canada procurement page for it here: https://buyandsell.gc.ca/procurement-data/tender-notice/PW-PWL-023-1903

The amount of care, engineering effort, MNR, MoE, Hamilton, Burlington, Ontario, federal and contractor synchronization required for this work item is mind-boggling.

And to be honest, I want it to be done right so as long as the ships are still kept out of Randle Bay so the sediment is not stirred up, I'm okay with the delay. But I would not eat the fish from the harbor. Even if the work is began today, I will probably not eat fish from it for some time in the future until sediment, metal and PAH measurements come back to 'normal'.

If anything, I would fish east of the Burlington canal and maybe take a fish or two from there.

 

[thebigchombowombocombo]

My fam has been fishing for cats for years and we eat both spring and summer catfish. There is a difference in taste between spring and summer ones but what my grandma does is soak them in water for a few hours and take off their slime vigorously (like you're scaling a fish).

Also when we fillet them we make sure to cut off the dark areas on the fillets since they taste like shit lol.

Hope this helps!

 

[hamtownhog]

Hey Klazinga I harvest a couple Cats a year also ! Cold water cats first of spring BUT not from Hamilton harbor , Some other tribs in and around our region produce some very edible cats ! My feelings are Besides a BIG Lake trout on an ice Pole Cat fishing hands down produces one of the better pound for pound fights . I Soak my fillets in buttermilk then i cook Cajun style. Whatever choice you make enjoy .....


Cheers !

 

[BowSlayer]

You'd have to be crazy to eat ANY fish from Hamilton lmao

 

[Alfiegee]

I again notice that the popular misconception that Channel Kitties are bottom feeders has resurfaced in this thread.
Although Cats like anything else are opportunistic feeders and will take what they find. They are also a top predator. Let me give you an example, a few weeks ago fishing live minnows 2 ft below a float in 6 ft of fast moving water something big hit my 3 inch minnow and cut it in half clean. Very next cast to the same spot I hooked and landed a Channel, estimate 6-8 lbs.
I often target Channels in Cootes (Princess Point), in the Grand River and in the Trent system below dams. I never, repeat never catch them on the bottom. I actually get most of mine float fishing, in the case of Cootes I get them 3 ft below the surface in 9 or 10 ft of water. As for the Grand and Trent in fast moving water again 2-3 ft down in 4-15 ft of water.

You'd have to be crazy to eat ANY fish from Hamilton lmao

I would agree with that. Randle Reef surfaced on the news again this week.
Also there was that fire in Dundas a few years ago that caused a lot of run off into Spencer Creek and thus Cootes containing Warfarin I believe and another fire also in Dundas that occurred at a tire supply company where I worked on the clean up last summer containing lead and other toxic chemicals that go into making tires.
Fish have been very scarce in Spencers the past few years.

Ooops, just noticed this is a bump from a couple of years back, I think before the second fire in Dundas happened.
Anyway, what BowSlayer said.

Alfie.