BY ART BUKOWSKI
abukowski@record-eagle.com
BELLAIRE — Don't eat lake trout from Torch Lake. Period.
The Michigan Department of Community Health on Thursday announced an updated fish advisory for the giant Antrim County lake. Recent testing found high levels of dioxins in lake trout, a top-level predator found in Torch and other area lakes.
Previously, the MDCH advised against consuming lake trout 26 inches or longer from Torch.
Dioxins are a group of chemicals that can cause cancer, harm the reproductive system and trigger developmental problems.
The advisory was issued after the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment collected and tested fish samples from the lake, MDCH Toxicologist Kory Groetsch said.
"We know it's an exposure, and we know it's a preventable exposure," he said. "When we have the information, we want to let people know."
Chad Bartz is manager of Butch's Tackle & Marine on the shores of Torch Lake. There's a "pretty loyal group of guys" that regularly fishes the lake for lake trout, he said. He's not sure if the new advisory will deter them from fishing, though he said they might eat less of their catch.
"I don't know how much (of) that stuff concerns people," he said.
Bartz believes it's not enough for the state to issue a fish advisory. Officials also need to work hard to find the source of the dioxins, he said.
"That's a pretty serious pollutant in the environment," he said. "That's not a good thing."
Groetsch said it's likely much of the pollution came in from above. Officials haven't located any point sources for the pollution along or near the lake, he said.
"Because Torch Lake is a large, deep, cold lake, it in some ways mimics the great lakes," he said. "A fair amount of the dioxins come in atmopsherically."
