Why fish consumption advisories in Great Lakes states like Wisconsin carry their own risks

The crew of the fish tug, Ava June, pick cisco, or lake herring, from gillnets after lifting them from Lake Superior during a fishing run near the Apostle Islands in Wisconsin, on Nov. 15, 2022. A recent study highlighting the potential dangers of “forever chemicals” has raised questions about the impacts of consuming fish exposed to toxins in the nation’s waterways. But oversimplifying or overstating the risks carries consequences.
Bennet Goldstein

Amid PFAS fears, oversimplified warnings could discourage residents from consuming a food central to Ojibwe lifeways.

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Bennet Goldstein reports on water and agriculture as Wisconsin Watch’s Report for America representative on the Mississippi River Basin Ag & Water Desk — a collaborative reporting network across the Basin. Before this, Goldstein was on the breaking news team at the Omaha World-Herald in Nebraska. He has spent most of his career at daily papers in Iowa, including the Dubuque Telegraph Herald. Goldstein’s work has garnered awards, including the Associated Press Media Editors award for an explanatory feature about a police shooting in rural Wisconsin, and an Iowa Newspaper Association award for a series that detailed the impacts of the loss of social safety net programs on Dubuque’s Marshallese community. He holds a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.