[Valigator]

Salmon health warning nears

SUSAN GORDON; The News Tribune
Like dancers in an underwater ballet, hundreds of baby chinook salmon dart and swirl as one, their leopard-like markings standing out against the gray walls of narrow, concrete rearing troughs. For decades, the state has reared millions of chinook like these in Lakewood and elsewhere for release into Puget Sound.
The purpose of these fish, under state law, is to be caught by recreational anglers.

But new evidence suggests that by the time these so-called resident chinook are big enough to catch, they are likely contaminated with PCBs, chemical compounds dangerous to people.

Scientists suspect they become more contaminated than other types of chinook because state Department of Fish and Wildlife managers delay release of the fish to suppress the desire to migrate to the ocean. That means these chinook mature in the polluted waters of Puget Sound and never leave for the cleaner waters of the Pacific.

It’s worrisome enough that the Washington Department of Health is preparing to issue the state’s first warning to consumers about eating salmon contaminated with PCBs.