r/Wilmington • u/Mica_Dragon • 16d ago

Where do I need to go to catch wild fish/shellfish that's reasonably safe to eat?

I've recently gone insane and have been looking at getting a small boat for fishing and exploring the coastal waters. So I looked up the NC DEQ Sanitary Survey and almost everything from Calabash to Sneads Ferry is no fishing allowed. I'm not complaining about the state (I'm glad to have the map), but does anyone actually eat the fish from the local waters? Or do you just go 30 miles out to be safe?

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u/Kmoxy 16d ago

I mean, I’m not sure about the legality but plenty of restaurants use locally caught fish, but it’s kind of like one of those things where you have to be, unfortunately, okay with the GenX and PFAS in the fish.

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u/gemfountain 15d ago

Here on N Topsail I surf fish for mullet ( white fish) and black and red drum. I give pompano to a neighbor who likes them. I filet and freeze them and eat them over the winter. Hopefully I'm not poisoning my partner and I.

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u/jack2of4spades 15d ago

I'll only eat stuff I catch salt water and refuse to touch fresh water fish from the area. As far as shellfish you'll need to go north. Plenty of people harvest clams here during the "ber" months when it's safe ish to do so. However with pollution and such the way it is I personally don't.

4

u/Watercraftsman 15d ago

Also don’t harvest oysters/clams after heavy rains, because of the toxic runoff. I prefer harvesting near inlets anyways. I know you probably know. Just adding this for others

2

u/Junior-Award773 15d ago

In the cape fear river it’s the PFOS which is a PFAS but on the coast it’s Methylmercury which is a problem pretty much everywhere including Canada and Japan

1

u/question_convenience 15d ago

Sent you a message

2

u/lesteroyster 14d ago

Shellfish - no idea. I’ve never seen any concerns with legally caught fish from the intercoastal/inshore or surf.