Local fishermen cautioned about eating bass from Big Sandy River

SPRINGVILLE, Tenn. — Fishermen at the Big Sandy River were met with a warning Friday: eat bass taken from the river at your own risk.

The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation said a mercury advisory is in effect just for the Big Sandy River waters and recommend children and pregnant women not consume bass caught there.

Fishermen WBBJ spoke with said most of the bass fishing done in these areas is catch and release.

“There’s a lot of tournaments,” fisherman James Hunley said. “They have the bass tournament, and when you have bass tournaments, guys that catch bass, they just keep them to weigh them in and they release them.”

Officials said mercury can get into the fish from local and distant water and air emissions but isn’t expected to affect any of the tournament fishing in the area.

Local fishermen said they hope it doesn’t affect the other fish.

“It could contaminate other types of fish,” fisherman Roy Coleman said. “It could get to the point where you wouldn’t be able to eat any of them.

State officials say while the advisory is in place, the waters are still open to the public for normal activities.

Authorities also said there is no knowledge of direct discharge of mercury into the Big Sandy River and that the mercury most likely came from atmospheric deposits.