DNR Warning: Do Not Eat Any Fish From The Kalamazoo River

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources has issued a warning not to eat fish from the Kalamazoo River.

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Summer Fishing

There is nothing better than getting out with the family or friends for a little summer fishing. It's warm out, the fish are hungry and so are people trying to catch them.

Most lakes and rivers you can get out on and enjoy the outdoors, decompress, share a few laughs and hopefully get some fish in the boat or onshore depending on where you are fishing.

The next step is enjoying a good meal from your harvest and sharing those stories of how you caught the big one or if the big one got away.

Pollution in Michigan Lakes and Rivers

Water and air are the two most important commodities in our survival right along with a healthy diet. It is a real shame that either of these ever gets polluted in the name of so-called progress.

To think companies in Michigan have not polluted our waters and our air is a silly assumption, especially when a lot of companies build their factories along our lakes and rivers.

When Michigan waters get polluted with chemicals, so do the fish and the wildlife that uses the water as their resource of survival.

Crayfish, bugs, and baitfish all get polluted. Then bigger fish eat them, and bigger fish eat them. Fishermen catch the bigger ones and eat them and that is where problems can begin for humans. Not to mention all of the other wildlife that may eat or drink from that river or lake.

DNR Says Do Not Eat Fish From Kalamazoo River

Earlier this year, the Department of Natural Resources issued their safe fish-eating guide. This guide tells you how much or little you can eat of any fish from the different lakes and rivers we have in Michigan.

According to WOOD-TV, the Kalamazoo River Alliance is sounding the alarm on the DNR's most recently updated Eat Safe Fish guide.

What I found really troubling was the graph that was posted on the Kalamazoo River Alliance Facebook page seen below:

That list should have everyone concerned. PCBs are being found in all species of fish and any size and they specifically state not to eat any fish. Normally there are some fish you can eat but until a few years after the clean-up of the Kalamazoo River between the Morrow Dam to the Allegan Dam do not eat anything you catch due to PCBs.

PCBs lead to a variety of cancer types and you need to stay away from any and all of these.

So from the list above, it looks like it will be catch and release only. If you want some fish to eat, you are going to have to fish elsewhere.

What Can You Do on The Kalamazoo River?

It looks like other than catch and release fishing, you will be able to kayak, canoe, and even go tubing. It is recommended to not walk in mucky areas because it's in the sediment where you find the PCBs.

WOOD-TV reported it will take into 2030 before the EPA has the 80 miles stretch of the Kalamazoo River cleaned up.

Looks like it will be many years before fish can be eaten again in that stretch of the Kalamazoo River.