DNR says fish in Iowa safe to eat

The Iowa Department of Natural Resources says nearly all the fish caught in Iowa rivers and streams are safe to eat. D-N-R Environmental Specialist John Olson says the state keeps good track of what’s in the fish in Iowa waters. He says they collect fish from 20 sites a year and have the fish analyzed by the E-P-A.If contaminants are found in the fish, the D-N-R issues an advisory.The advisory is a warning that long term consumption of the fish may cause you to get sick. Olson says the D-N-R has an advisory issued for a lake in eastern Iowa contaminated by chemicals from factories.The advisory affects all fish taken from Cedar Lake in Cedar Rapids. The state of Illinois has issued an advisory for catfish in the Mississippi River. Olson says Iowa using a different set of standards and does not consider it a risk to eat catfish from most of the Mississippi.There is an advisory for pool 15 on the Mississippi near Davenport due to high levels of P-C-Bs. Olson says the decline in the use of the P-C-B chemicals has led to a decrease in their occurrence in fish.