June 28, 2005

seafood safe consumption campaign is exceeding expectations 
 

            The original plan for GEC's seafood safe consumption educational campaign called for only 4000 copies of our multi-colored flyer.  As of this writing (June 28), we and our partner agencies (Glynn County Health Dept and the Dept of Natural Resources) have distributed more than 15,000 copies -- a third of them in Spanish -- and just received a third printing of 5000 more English copies.

             Those figures are indicative of the way in which this project has exceeded our hopes for educating the public about the locations of Glynn County's seafood consumption advisory areas, the amounts of seafood which should be eaten from those areas, and the best ways to clean and cook the fish in order to reduce toxic intake.  Copies of the flyers have been made available at more than 14 different government agencies, health facilities, libraries, and camps, at 7 marinas, 9 seafood shops, 13 retailers of bait and tackle supplies, 12 places which cater to the Hispanic community, 4 restaurants, and 10 other locations.  The flyers have been distributed in 18 neighborhoods which border the advisory areas.  Signs have been posted at 7 public boat ramps and 10 additional fishing locations and in 7 laundromats.  In addition, they have been distributed at several fishing tournaments and during presentations to schools and civic organizations.  The flyers are available at all the local places where fishing licenses may be obtained.

          Click below for PDF copy of the FULL COLOR FLYER:      

  [click here for links to updated 2006 flyers]
 

We've put nearly 2000 miles onto our vehicles driving from fishing site to fishing site day after day.  In all, we have spoken to nearly 1000 separate individuals about the advisories -- 2/3 of them one-on-one at fishing sites and other places.  At DNR's Parent-Child Fishing Derby we showed people how to clean fish to remove the fatty parts which hold the highest concentrations of toxins. 

Robert Randall and Clyde Williams demonstrating fish cleaning at the DNR
Parent-Child Fishing Derby, June 4, 2005

             The media has been very helpful in spreading the information as well.  Articles, or copies of the flyer, have appeared in all the local newspapers, including on the front page of The Brunswick News two days in a row.  The local Spanish paper, Papel Picado, ran a two-page centerspread of the information in its May issue.

             Response to the campaign has been positive.  While a few folk have denied that any problem exists, most people have been thankful to learn and receive a lasting reference about the locations and extent of risk in eating certain seafood from certain places.  Many people have expressed dismay that we have so polluted our beautiful area.  And no small number of long-time fishers in the area have told us glowing accounts of better days when huge numbers of large fish could be pulled from our waters without even trying!  (Well, they are fish tales, after all.)

             There is no pre-campaign baseline against which to measure changes in fishing patterns, but it seems that the numbers of fishers at some of the advisory sites has decreased during the past two months of the campaign.  And hopefully people are changing the ways in which they clean, cook, and eat fish caught in the advisory areas.  If anyone is spared the ill health effects of eating too many contaminated fish -- while getting the good health effects from eating seafood which is uncontaminated --  this project will have been well worth our effort.