Is catfish eatable from New Kensington/Allegheny?

 
I was wondering if the catfish cought under the dam in New Kensington is good to eat ?
I love the taste of catfish, but have never fished for it there, only heard stories from other people catching it.
 
Is it good fishing for cats in New Kensington, if so are they good to eat? I heard people eating the walleyes cought there but nothing in regards to cats...
 
Any info/tips would be good...
 
Thanks a bunch

High levels of toxin found in fish in Allegheny River at Kittanning By Francine Garrone
The Valley News Dispatch
Wednesday, October 31, 2007


FRAZER -- It is not the toxic mercury and selenium that has been found in channel catfish in the Allegheny River near Kittanning that has members of the Allegheny River Stewardship Project scratching their heads. It's is how the toxins got there. Leading researchers from a consortium of environmental groups met with about 80 fishermen and concerned residents from the Alle-Kiski Valley on Tuesday in hopes of reeling them in to help identify five locations along the river where fish can be caught and monitored for levels of toxins. "Fish, essentially, are the 'canaries in the coal mines,'" said Conrad Daniel Volz, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute, Center for Environmental Oncology. "Just like the canaries are sensors for air quality, fish are sensors for water quality." story continues below Volz works in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health and is co-director for exposure assessment. The Allegheny River Stewardship Project is an effort by leading researchers, working with concerned citizens of the Alle-Kiski Valley river communities, to determine the sources and types of river pollutants by monitoring the levels of toxins in fish in the river. Volz said results from the Pittsburgh Fish Consumption Study, performed in fall 2005, indicated that fish caught at the Highland Park and Braddock dams and Point State Park in Pittsburgh contained pharmaceutical estrogens that are entering the river through sewer overflow pipes and discharge from sewer treatment plants such as Alcosan. The study was not moved north to Kittanning until Volz heard people say that it is "so much cleaner up there," and "I would definitely eat fish from Kittanning." Volz said that's when it was discovered that the channel catfish from the river in Kittanning contain toxic levels of mercury, selenium and arsenic. "It was found that the fish from Kittanning had high mercury levels -- three times the levels found in the Pittsburgh fish," Volz said. "This is a hazard. It puts children between the ages of 5 and 8 at high risk for neurological impairment if eaten." Volz said he attributes the toxic levels of mercury, selenium and arsenic to coal-fired power plants such as Reliant Energy in Springdale. Pat Hammond, spokeswoman for Reliant, said officials at the plant have not reviewed Volz's study. "We can't respond to the specifics, but the plant is in compliance with air and water permits," Hammond said. "We are investing $250 million in a project that will remove between 80 and 90 percent of the mercury from emissions at the facility." Volz recommends that fish caught in the Allegheny near Kittanning should not be eaten due to the high levels of toxins, especially by young children and individuals of child-bearing age. Fish caught in Pittsburgh are safe to eat, he said, but Volz asks that fishermen follow the rules of eating specific amounts. Paul Caruso of Homer City has fished near Kittanning all his life. Although Caruso doesn't eat as much fish as he used to, he is still alarmed by the amount of toxins. "It alarms me that there is such a high amount of toxins in the fish," he said. "When I was younger, I used to eat a lot of (river) fish." Don Marco of Allegheny Township decided to join the community volunteer project in hopes of learning how safe is the drinking water from the Allegheny River. Although the water in Allegheny Township comes from Beaver Run Reservoir in Washington Township, Marco was surprised to learn that people who get water from communities that draw treated water originating from the Allegheny do so after it has been contaminated by 16 billion gallons of sewage. "What concerns me most is the levels estrogen in the drinking water," Marco said. "Our drinking water is critical here." "River life means something to your health," Volz said. "I am not telling you not to drink your tap water, but there is evidence that this could be a long-term problem."
 Francine Garrone can be reached at fgarrone@tribweb.com or 724-226-4701.
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