Eating fish in Eildon?

[orsk]

Hi all,

I usually fish in PPB but will be heading out on a camping trip up to Goughs Bay area on Lake Eildon in a couple of weeks with the fam and my sisters and wanted to do a spot of fishing up there.

I have never fished Lake Eildon before but have heard that there is an issue with Mercury up there in the water and was wondering if it is safe to eat the fish we catch? The area we are staying is the Goughs Bay region which is south of the GM river and is the area which I have heard have the issues. Can anyone tell me if it is safe to eat what we catch, or if there are certain fish we should not eat or a way to prepare them so that we can? Also, I was thinking of putting in a yabby pot in the water overnight too but am worried about the Mercury levels. I really have no experience with this apart from having to bleed any Gummys we catch in the bay so do not know if this is a real concern or not. Any advice would be great!

Thanks
Orsk.

[Rod Bender]

I have never heard of there being any issues with eating fish from Eildon regarding mercury levels; but on saying that, I don't fish there. There may have been some issues with blue - green algae (BGA) a few weeks ago. You're best bet would be to contact Goulburn Murray Water. From their website it appears as though the BGA alert has been lifted and I'm sure if there were other issues / warnings it would be noted on this site. Also, welcome to the site!
thanks
Jim
http://www.g-mwater.com.au/bluegreenalgae-alert/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[orsk]

Thanks Rod, I did manage to find a link somewhere saying you need to be careful with eating fish south of the Goulburn River, but it mainly said Brown Trout and Redfin should be limited to 1 a week or so, but that then got me confused as to whether I should only eat that and no other fish or if other fish are fine and just limit myself with them haha (not that I expect to eat that much, Im not greedy!) I guess I should give them a call and find out but just curious about others experiences / opinions if you have any. Thanks

[Rod Bender]

Thanks Rod, I did manage to find a link somewhere saying you need to be careful with eating fish south of the Goulburn River, but it mainly said Brown Trout and Redfin should be limited to 1 a week or so, but that then got me confused as to whether I should only eat that and no other fish or if other fish are fine and just limit myself with them haha (not that I expect to eat that much, Im not greedy!) I guess I should give them a call and find out but just curious about others experiences / opinions if you have any. Thanks

GMW would be the only site I would take any notice off. If you have any doubt for peace of mind I would contact them. Honestly I'm not sure. Regarding the 'eating fish south of the Goulburn River', to me that location doesn't really make sense. The Goulburn runs through Shepparton and it runs north/south here so my house is east of it! It constantly changes direction so it is hard to say 'south of' or 'north of' or check the details on the link you found. See what others have to say anyway. Good luck on the trip!
thanks
Jim
Edit: I have done some research and you were right; there are some issues as you have obviously found! Glad I told you I wasn't sure and you should check!!!