MADISON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – State wildlife and health officials are urging anglers against eating more than one meal per week of rainbow smelt from Green Bay’s waters.
That includes the bay’s tributaries up to the first dam, meaning it impacts portions of the Peshtigo, Oconto and Menominee Rivers.
The warning comes after elevated levels of PFAS were found in rainbow smelt sampled from the bay.
PFAS are a group of human-made chemicals that have been used for decades in various products, such as non-stick cookware, fast food wrappers, stain-resistant sprays and certain types of firefighting foams that have made their way into the environment.
Health risks may increase when fish with high levels of PFAS are consumed more frequently than recommended. These can include increased cholesterol levels, decreased immune response, decreased fertility in women, and cancers, among other health effects.
“We have a regular fish contaminants monitoring program where we test for contaminates from fish all across the state,” said DNR Toxicologist Sean Strom. “Green Bay is a water body that’s sampled often.”
Strom says the DNR decided to test rainbow smelt because of the fish’s history.
“With past results of PFAS in rainbow smelt from Lake Superiors, we took it upon ourselves to sample smelt from Green Bay.”
There is also a PFAS consumption advisory for rock bass.
Owner of Smokey’s on the Bay Jeff Tilkens says going out and fishing for rainbow smelt is not what it used to be on the bay.
“We’d go out by Red River Park or any little tributary going into the bay. It was always at night. It was always tradition, and I mean, we’d get garbage cans full of smelt.”
Tilkens says they would catch them with a large net at night and eat them right away.
“We’d get beers and cut their heads off with a scissors and fry them up, and it was a good time.”
Fisherman Bill Frailing has similar memories of filling coolers with smelt.
“We’d come back, clean ’em up. We’d have a bunch of meals out of that. Nowadays, it’s not even worth our time. They’re ain’t enough to fill up nets, coolers or anything anymore.”
Strom says rainbow smelt typically run in the spring time but are not as common as they used to be.
Both Frailing and Tilkens say it’s a shame the chemicals have made their way into these fish.
“A lot of people go fishing because its very economical — it’s an economical way to feed their family,” said Tilkens.
“It’s unfortunate that something like that’s got to happen,” said Frailing.
Strom expects this advisory to be around for years.
