Archive of Spotlight Feature Articles

Fish School Reaches New Audiences about PCB, Mercury Health Concerns

By Irene Miles, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant

"Students are our future consumers and decision-makers," said Robin Goettel, IISG communications coordinator and education specialist. "They also provide a unique way to connect with communities about the benefits and risks of fish consumption."

Fish provide key nutrients for growing young minds and healthy bodies of all ages, but some are contaminated with pollutants that can have serious health effects, particularly on babies and children. Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant (IISG) has made it a priority to inform critical audiences about eating fish wisely.

Teacher uses a mock-up of a scale to show his students how to 'weigh' benefits and risks of eating fish.

Teacher Mike Williams demonstrates how to "weigh" benefits and risks of eating fish. Fish School workshop participants included teachers, scientists, Extension educators, and Sea Grant's education team.
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A new education program in southern Lake Michigan communities, Fish School: Taking Stock of Risks and Benefits, involves scientists, nutritional experts, Extension educators, teachers, and students in an effort to raise awareness in those who need it the most--women in their child-bearing years and families who fish for their food.

In May, 13 middle and high school teachers in the Chicago region learned about contaminants directly from scientists and worked with University of Illinois and Purdue University Extension educators to develop teaching programs and plan health expos. "Students are our future consumers and decision-makers," said Robin Goettel, IISG communications coordinator and education specialist. "They also provide a unique way to connect with communities about the benefits and risks of fish consumption."

An Asian fisherman tries his luck from a pier along Chicago's Lake Michigan shore.

The pier at Montrose Harbor in Chicago provides a beautiful site for anglers, but the fish in these waters may contain contaminants that can lead to health problems.

Shara Fata, a teacher at Kilmer Elementary on the north side of Chicago recruited several educators from her school to attend the workshop. "Our school sits two blocks from Lake Michigan. We see people fishing there all the time, so this information is really relevant here. We are planning a team effort to teach the students--through art, science, health classes and more."

As part of the Fish School program, students will design posters, exhibits or other creative projects that will be on display at school and community events. Fata is planning a school expo and is talking with the Peggy Notebeart Nature Museum to hold a community wide event that will display student projects on the risks and benefits of fish consumption. "This program will touch the lives of the 1,000 children in our school as well as the larger community," said Fata.

Fish School is a partnership of IISG and the Illinois Science Teachers Association, Building a Presence for Science Program, with funding from U.S. EPA Great Lakes National Program Office.

With support from the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, IISG and Extension are also using more traditional means to reach out to underserved populations, through workshops that explain the latest fish consumption advisory information directly to local populations. The workshops can be presented in English, Spanish, Polish, or Chinese, depending on the audience.

This graphic shows ways to eliminate some of the contaminants in fish by removing the skin, dorsal fat along the backbone, fat belly meat along the bottom, and cutting away a v-shaped wedge along the length of the lateral line on each skin side of the fish

In the Extension fish advisory workshops, audiences learn how to trim fish to reduce their exposure to PCBs. (Graphic courtesy of Wisconsin Sea Grant.)
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As part of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program in Chicago (EFNEP), Extension staff members have thus far held about 10 sessions, providing information on mercury and PCB concerns. EFNEP is designed for families of limited resources, annually reaching out to more than 3,300 adults. Some participants in these workshops, which have included immigrants from Mexico and Asia, are learning for the first time about health problems related to mercury levels in fish.

Flip charts created for these workshops, as well as several brochures, including The ABCs of PCBs and Contaminants in Fish and Seafood: A Guide to Safe Consumption (both provide text in several languages) can be found at www.iisgcp.org/products/free.htm.

The Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant College Program is one of more than 30 National Sea Grant College Programs. Created by Congress in 1966, Sea Grant combines university, government, business and industry expertise to address coastal and Great Lakes needs. Funding is provided by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), U. S. Department of Commerce, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Purdue University at West Lafayette, Indiana.

[9/10/05]

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