Bonefish In South Florida Discovered To Contain High Levels Of Pharmaceuticals

The following report is from the University of Florida International University, first published on February 22nd, 2022:

Coastal fisheries face increasing threats associated with human-based contaminants. Pharmaceuticals are an often overlooked dimension of water quality and their presence in South Florida bonefish is cause for concern. These contaminants pose a significant threat to the flats fishery, an important part of Florida’s recreational saltwater fishery, which has an annual economic impact of $9.2 billion and directly support over 88,500 jobs.

Said Jim McDuffie, BTT President and CEO.

Since the study began in 2018, FIU scientists and BTT research associates, in partnership with Sweden’s Umeå Unversity and the University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), have sampled 93 fish in South Florida, finding an average of seven pharmaceuticals per bonefish, and a whopping 17 pharmaceuticals in a single fish. The list includes blood pressure medications, antidepressants, prostate treatment medications, antibiotics, and pain relievers. Researchers also found pharmaceuticals in bonefish prey — crabs, shrimp and fish — suggesting that many of Florida’s valuable fisheries are exposed, and not only the bonefish fishery.

Studies Find “Forever Chemicals” And Heavy Metals In Drinking Waters

Lead researcher Jennifer Rehage, a coastal and fish ecologist and associate professor at the FIU Institute of Environment, presented the study’s findings at a BTT panel event in Tallahassee, FL.

These findings are truly alarming. Pharmaceuticals are an invisible threat, unlike algal blooms or turbid waters. Yet these results tell us that they are a formidable threat to our fisheries, and highlight the pressing need to address our longstanding wastewater infrastructure issues.

Rehage said

Approximately 5 billion prescriptions are filled each year in the U.S., yet there are no environmental regulations for the disposal of pharmaceuticals worldwide. Pharmaceutical contaminants originate most often from human wastewater and are not sufficiently removed by conventional water treatment. They remain active at low doses, can be released constantly, and exposure can affect all aspects of fish behavior, with negative consequences for their reproduction and survival. Pharmaceutical contaminants have been shown to affect all aspects of the life of fish, including their feeding, activity, sociability, and migratory behavior.

These troubling findings underscore the urgent need for Florida to expand and modernize wastewater treatment facilities and sewage infrastructure statewide. Governor DeSantis’s leadership and historic funding for water quality improvements, along with legislative support and funding, have set us on the right path. Now we must expedite those efforts, increase investment over the long term, and pursue innovative solutions. We must accelerate septic to sewer conversion, and in those places where sewage is not available, require the use of advanced septic technology. The health of our citizens and the coastal resources that support Florida’s economy depend on it.

Said McDuffie

Microplastics Have Now Been Detected In The Blood For The First Time

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AUTHOR COMMENTARY

And the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead, that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth.

Revelation 11:18

For those unacquainted with the issue, “wild caught” seafood is basically a joke at this point, because the oceans are strife with so much pollution and toxicity it is seeping into the plantlife and sea creatures; which you will ingest if you eat it. And farm-raised is even worse, though, in some rare instances (depending on the farm) the farm-raised fish could be healthier in the long run because the oceans are just so toxic anymore.

My recommendation is when it comes to seafood, with inflation screaming higher with no end in sight, and with all the toxicity, I would just avoid it, unfortunately – unless you can source it from an untapped and unpolluted lake or stream.

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[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).

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