(MADISON, Wis.)—Sixty people gathered at Brittingham Park on Thurs., Sept. 20 to make and install fish consumption advisory signs to help shoreline anglers learn about the toxins in fish caught in Monona Bay.
“Mercury, PCBs, PAHs, heavy metals, and other toxin levels in Monona Bay make it necessary for people to limit their consumption of many of the fish caught there, yet there are no signs posted anywhere along the bay shoreline to notify anglers of the risks,” said Madison Environmental Justice Organization Executive Director Maria Powell.
“This is important because Monona Bay is one of the most heavily fished spots in the county, and most of the shoreline, often low-income anglers are not aware of the fish advisories,” she continued. “Signs posted around the bay at least would provide information to shoreline anglers as they fish and may lead them to make safer decisions about consuming fish.”
MEJO has been asking state and county officials to install advisory signs to for the past year. The state often post fish consumption advisory signs at public boat ramps, but has not placed any around Monona Bay , where most anglers fish from shore. MEJO posted their own unofficial signs to draw attention to the need for the state and county to do so. MEJO members Cynthia Lin, Kazoua Moua, VamMeej Yang, Benito Juarez Olivas, Jody Schmitz and Sierra Powell welcomed a large crowd at the Brittingham Park fish fry where they learned about the pollution problems in the bay.
