[rosco]

I noticed & am somewhat aware of various toxins in our environment and our local waters, including dangers of mercury & such in striped bass, etc.

My question: are clams (regular large clams sold in fish stores, and also used for catching stripers) also classified as a toxin threat? I enjoy eating these things regularly but I've never been quite certain if they are safe. And if they contain some levels of toxins...how safe are they for small kids?

Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[Fishing Friend]

Clams as well as all crustaceans (lobsters, shrimp,etc.) are not healthy because they are cleaners of the sea and therefore collect the toxins. Fish is healthy. Especially those with high fat content. Fish like mackerel, scrod, WILD salmon, and believe it or not small bluefish. Limit tuna and don't eat swordfish because of high mercury content. The reason being that they are high on the food chain and therefore accumulate all of the toxins from the baitfish. As an avid fisherman this makes no sense to me because these two types of fish are only found in pristine waters. But I'm telling you what I've learned from my studies of this subject. Swordfish are way overfished anyway. Inshore fish because of close proximity to pollution runoff (especially stripers that winter over in the Hudson) are probably not too healthy. But I'm not aware of any conclusive studies to prove it. Generally though the smaller the fish the less toxins it will have. I eat stripers and most of the inshore species myself. Children are the MOST vulnerable to any toxic sustances and therefore clams are a bad idea.

 

[bigbillybass]

also pregnant woman should limit fish to once a week if that.

 

[bluefishmaster]

Clam or any shellfish including crabs are not safe to eat from the NYC area like any of the 5 boroughs of NYC, NJ, and Connecticut. I believed the clams you find in fish market should be from outside of the polluted area. Eat Stripers no bigger than 30" if possible. I stopped keeping them this year. I threw all my keepers back. I only kept a bluefish and my keeper flukes.

 

[rosco]

Thanks so much for all the replies!
It's one thing to have certain assumptions but another to get these feedbacks to substantiate what one already knows or doesn't know. Noreast & it's members are brilliant exactly for this reason.

Also I never thought that the clams would be from outside the polluted zones. Because I've seen so many of these clams in the surf (regular clam looking large ones) I assumed that they would also be harvested locally. I sincerely hope that they were harvested elsewhere...somewhere with a lot less pollution in the water. It's really sad that we (especially corporations) put profit over all else and screw up the planet for us & the children of the future.

Thanks again everyone!