Improved Guide To Eating Sport Fish Now Available
Specific Advice For Women Of Child-Bearing Years And Children Added
TORONTO - The Ontario government is providing anglers and consumers with improved information on consuming Ontario sport fish by releasing an updated guide, Environment Minister Leona Dombrowksy said today.
"Ontarians have come to depend on the fish guide as a reliable source of health information," said Dombrowsky. "This improved guide will protect the health of anglers and consumers of sport fish better than ever before."
The minister's comments came as she launched the 2005-2006 version of the Guide to Eating Ontario Sport Fish at the Spring Fishing Show at the International Centre in Toronto. The guide is published by the Ministry of the Environment and developed in co-operation with the Ministry of Natural Resources.
The Guide now contains two sets of recommendations for each of the species tested in over 1,700 locations in Ontario: one set for the general population and another set for women of child-bearing years and children under 15. Previously, there was only one set of recommendations.
The guide is based on Health Canada guidelines on the quantities of toxic substances that can be safely ingested. New guidelines issued recently, as well as improvements in test methods, have resulted in changes to some consumption limits, according to the amounts of toxic substances found in the sampled fish.
"We are turning these guidelines and our information on the contaminant levels in fish into information that consumers can use in making wise choices," said Dombrowsky.
Download a PDF version of the guide online by visiting their website at www.ene.gov.on.ca/envision/guide.
Contact:
John Steele
Communications Branch
416-314-6666
Arthur Chamberlain
Minister's Office
(416) 314-5139
