Is it OK to sell contaminated carp to the Chinese?

In the last day many outlets have covered the plan, touted by Illinois governor Pat Quinn, to reduce the number of Asian carp in area water bodies by promoting the harvesting and export of the fish as food for the Chinese market.

Missing from the discussion, it seems, is acknowledgment that carp are bottom-feeding fish which concentrated contaminants in their flesh. Both Indiana and Illinois have issued advisories warning anglers to restrict consumption of carp because they are contaminated with mercury, PCBs and chlordane.

In Indiana, where an Asian carp was recently caught in Lake Calumet near Chicago, state officials say that carp longer than 25 inches should never be eaten no matter where it is caught, the Indiana Journal Gazette reports.

The risk from eating Group 5 fish once a week, which the state says should never be eaten, is roughly equivalent to 200 chest X-rays a year, according to the report.

There are many contaminants in the water, the report says, but those of biggest concern – and the only ones the state tested for – are mercury and PCBs, because they can build up over time in fish tissue, making bigger, older fish more contaminated.

Indiana’s complete 2010 fish advisory is available on this state web site.

The 2010 Illinois fish advisory warns that because of PCB and chlordane contamination no one should eat carp — no matter the size — caught in Lake Michigan off Cook and Lake Counties.

For carp caught in many Illinois rivers anglers are advised to limit consumption to one meal a month. State consumption advisories for children and women of childbearing age are even more restrictive.