What size walleyes are no longer good for eating? (2024)

09-13-2004, 10:35 PM

I don't disagree that "Erie is a different ballgame". I do disagree that the small ones taste the same as the big ones.
Toxins accumulate in fish (and humans) because PCBs, dioxins, and pesticides are fat soluble, and thus tend to concentrate in fatty tissues. So trimming off the fat and then cooking the fish can reduce levels of some contaminants. However, mercury binds to proteins, so it remains even in the trimmed and cooked fillet.

Toxins get into fish (and people) mainly through ingestion of food. If the rate of excretion is less than the rate of consumption, the toxins accumulate. Each time a fish eats another fish with toxins in its body, toxins remain in the predator. Thus, older, larger fish are likely to contain toxins in higher levels. This increasing concentration of poisons at the top of the food chain is called bioaccumulation. Saltwater predators include shark, swordfish, and tuna. Freshwater predators include northern pike, bass, and walleye. Smaller panfish such as perch, sunfish, and crappie are lower on the food chain and thus safer to eat.

This tends to make me think a 2 lb'er tastes different than a 12 lb'er. Of course this is just an opinion.

BIRDDOG

FOR BETTER OR WORSE FISHING AND HUNTING COME FIRST