State updates decades-old advisory about seafood from some Calcasieu waterways

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CALCASIEU PARISH, LA (KPLC) - Several state agencies have issued an advisory regarding the consumption of seafood taken from some Calcasieu waterways.

The Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Department of Environmental Quality and Department of Wildlife and Fisheries issued an updated seafood advisory on Thursday concerning fish and shellfish for Bayou D'Inde, the Calcasieu Estuary and the Calcasieu Ship Channel.

The advisory is based on sampling date from 2011-2015 of finfish and shellfish, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries said in a news release. The advisory was issued as a precaution. More information can by found by contacting the Department of Health at 1-888-293-7020 or by visiting www.ldh.la.gov/EatSafeFish.

"In order to safeguard and protect public health from chemically contaminated fish and shellfish, advisories are issued from time to time," said Dr. BJ Foch, regional administrator and medical director for the Department of Health and Hospitals for Region 5.

Foch said state agencies want residents to take the precautions seriously but to also understand that the advisory is not new, per se.

"These advisory have been issued since the 1980s and it's just an update and it's based on sampling and analysis that was taking place between 2011-2015," said Foch.

For the portion of the Calcasieu Estuary that lies north of channel marker no. 11 and is not already covered by the Bayou D'Inde/Calcasieu Ship Channel Advisory, state agencies advise the following:

Do not eat catfish
Do not eat crab fat
Limit consumption of other fish and shellfish to two meals per month

"Elevated levels of PCB, dioxins and furans were found in the tissues," explained Foch.

Shrimp, blue crab, oysters and finfish were tested for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dioxins and furans.

Elevated levels of PCBs, dioxins and furans were found in the tissue (meat/fillet) of some species. Unacceptable levels of PCBs, dioxins and furans were also found in crab hepatopancreas (fat).

KPLC spoke with a local seafood market and restaurant to get their thoughts.

For JT's Seafood, it's business as usual.

"We have our catfish filets. We have some fresh red snapper," said Marcos Partin, an employee with JT's Seafood.

Partin said while their seafood is local, it's not impacted by this recent advisory.

"So nothing's from that area that was affected," assured Partin.

Katherine Vidrine, owner of Steamboat Bill's - which also sells local seafood - chimed in with this statement: "We think it's interesting they would choose to post an advisory now, when it's been public knowledge. Bayou D'Inde has been polluted for years. Notices have been posted for as long as I can remember."

Both took time to reassure the public their establishments are aware and safe.

"From when we read it this morning, we thought, we figured some people would worry about it but we're OK here - everything's fine," said Partin.

This isn't something where you're going to immediately get sick if you've eaten fish from that area. Dr. Foch says it's just a precaution to be aware of.

Foch said there's a historical contamination of these toxins in the area from industry dating back several decades.

For more, click HERE or visit www.wlf.la.gov.