Invisible Threat:Contamination Sydney Harbour

[Gad]

Microplastic contamination discovered on bottom of Sydney Harbour

The bottom of Sydney Harbour has been contaminated by widespread microplastic pollution which could be entering the food chain, scientists say.

/>http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-21/microplastics-found-in-sydney-harbour-floor/5686472

[Binder]

Considering the fish are so contaminated with dioxin in sydney harbour commercial fishing is banned and recreational fishing is only allowed in half of it, I dont think the plastic is much of a worry in the scheme of things!.

[Egg Beaater]

I think you can fish the entire harbour and river system still.

[Bi_polar]

I grew up on the Parramatta River as a kid and some of the fish i saw were freaky to say the least. Between all the chemical companies that used to dump their waste in the water it made Springfield look like a river in the Swiss Alps.

[Gad]

I think you can fish the entire harbour and river system still.

....

but they advise not to eat anything caught west of the bridge

Taken from FW

Sydney fishos ignoring health warnings

18 Aug 2014

DESPITE health warnings regarding the consumption of fish caught west of Sydney Harbour bridge, a study has shown anglers are still fishing the area from boats and shore.

According to the ABC, a comprehensive study of how Sydney residents use the harbour has identified fishing "hotspots" west of the bridge, an area subject to health warnings.

Scientists say fish caught west of the bridge could be contaminated with cancer-causing pollutants.

Luke Hedge, from the Sydney Institute of Marine Science, said that "on a perfect Sydney day" up to 20 boatloads of fishermen could be found in each of the hotspots around the Lane Cove River and east of Cockatoo Island, and between 15 and 20 anglers fish from the wharves to the immediate west of the Harbour Bridge.

That was despite multi-lingual signs warning of the threat from dioxins – industrial pollutants washing out from Homebush Bay that can cause cancer.

Professor Emma Johnston from the University of New South Wales said the problem was not new.

"A factory released a large amount of dioxins around the Homebush Bay area for many years. So the sediment is a historical legacy of contamination," she said.

Significant remediation work has reportedly been carried out in the harbour over the past five years to remove a lot of the toxic sediment.

Read more at: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-08-16/health-warning-over-fish-caught-west-of-sydney-harbour-bridge/5674960

[Egg Beaater]

Doesn't mean you are not allowed to fish half the system.

This is how urban myths start

[Bi_polar]

Union Carbide are one of the big factories that i remember, but there were literally dozens of chemical factories all down the river.

When they developed the site every bit of soil had to be removed and processed and driving past it, it looked like a scene from Chernobyl.

The Pollutants are definitely there and i think what Gad is saying is that you can fish there but cannot consume fish from there.

The river system definitely has a healthy population of fish and has become better over the years but i still would never eat anything from the Parramatta River.