DAVIS ISLAND, Fla. — There's nothing like reeling in a great catch to Elijah Pettway and Omari Green. Sometimes, it's all about the sport and other times, it's about food.
"We usually eat the saltwater fish. Fresh water, no," said Pettway.
The Florida Department of Health doesn't want you to blindly cast your fishing rod into the water. FDOH said most of the fish caught in local water should be eaten twice a week. Some fish, they say you shouldn't eat at all.
"We've noticed that, you know, when Mercury is very high in certain fish, we tend to avoid them. But I think it all comes down to the person and how they grew up eating the fish," said Green.
For anyone looking to monitor what a good daily catch is, FDOH has a list on its website.
Some examples of the advisories include: consuming spotted sunfish out of the Hillsborough River once a month, Bluegill from Lake Medard as much as twice a week, and pregnant women shouldn't eat any of the Largemouth Bass from Gadsden Park.
The advisory cites mercury levels found in species in varying bodies of freshwater statewide.
The fishing duo at Seaplane Basin Park on Davis Island said they make sure to keep up with advisories before grabbing their fishing rods.
"We keep up, especially with Florida Fish and Wildlife. We both have their apps and stuff," said Pettway.
A study by the University of South Florida found that 88.4% of the people who fish in Tampa Bay eat their catch. That's despite a lack of mercury advisories in the area's fishing sites and public parks.
The study found more than a million acres of land and water in the state are classified as impaired by mercury.
Still, these two fishermen said it won't keep them away from eating their catch.
"Depending on the fish. If it's like a grouper or something like that, I'd say I eat it two to three times (a week)," said Green.
