密歇根新闻广播 U.P.部落想知道什么时候可以吃鱼

"When can we eat the fish?"

That's what the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community in Michigan's Upper Peninsula wants to know.

Officials in Michigan issue fish advisories¹. Those recommend limits on how much fish we eat because of toxic² chemicals that can build up in fish.

Indigenous³ communities in the Great Lakes are at greater risk because they eat a lot of fish.

For years, there was a focus on trying to get tribes to follow the advisories more closely. But some people argue that's the wrong way to tackle the problem.

"Culturally-relevant" fish advisories

In 2008, Valoree Gagnon was still an undergraduate student at Michigan Technological⁴ University. She learned that toxic chemicals like mercury and PCBs build up in fish in the region. And she learned that not everyone limits their fish intake⁵, especially tribal⁶ communities.

"They were consuming fish at rates that were above human health criteria⁷, and that was a really big concern for me," she says.

Once she began grad school, she thought she had a plan. For her master's research, she started talking to members of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

"Early on, I wanted to know more about that culture in order to create what is called a culturally relevant fish consumption advisory⁸, and so in what way could I help community members make choices associated with fish consumption that were safer?" she explains.

Then she had a conversation that changed her perspective.

"I sat down to talk with an elder woman, and she was almost 80 years old. And first, you know, you go through the process of sharing your research and, you know, how important your research is," she says.

But the woman stopped her.

"And she said ‘well, let me just tell YOU something. Don't you be another one of those people to come in here and tell us to stop eating our fish. Why don't you go back there and tell them to stop polluting our waters?'"

When fish advisories were first issued in the early 1970's, they were supposed to be temporary.

In the 1990's, agencies began trying to make the advisories "culturally relevant;" to make them something that at-risk groups, like tribal communities, would listen to.

By the end of Gagnon's interviews, she knew that fish advisories could never be relevant to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. They depend on fish for food, culture, and livelihood⁹.

Asking the right questions

Gagnon says indigenous communities can be wary¹⁰ of scientists, and the KBIC was no different.

"They were already experienced with lots of researchers that came to do research, took what they needed, and then they were never heard from again," she explains.

But Gagnon was accountable to the community. She shared her results with the families she interviewed. She compiled the oral histories she recorded with the tribe's historic preservation¹¹ office.

Not long after, another group of researchers contacted her. They wanted to study chemicals like mercury and PCBs, and they wanted to center their research in the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. They knew Gagnon had a relationship with the tribe, and they knew they needed her help to work there.

She agreed, but she wanted to make sure that this time, the right questions were asked from the beginning. Before the new research proposal was even submitted, she consulted the tribe.

Once funding was secured, she and the other researchers held a community workshop to formulate¹² their questions. They invited people from the tribe, other universities, and government agencies.

The result was a research question that actually was relevant to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community: "When can we eat the fish?"

Specifically, when could they eat fish as often as their ancestors had done for generations?

When can we eat the fish?

It's hard to know exactly when the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will be able to eat as much fish as they want. But, it probably won't be in our lifetime. Especially if we stay on our current path.

Small-scale gold production is the world's largest source of mercury emissions¹³, followed by stationary¹⁴ fossil fuel combustion¹⁵.

There are lots of chemicals involved, including mercury, which comes mainly from fossil fuel combustion and metal processing, and PCBs, which are emitted from landfills and wastewater treatment plants. These chemicals can travel long distances and stay in the environment for decades.

Mercury is particularly relevant right now because of some policies that are currently on the table.

The researchers defined different ways mercury policies might go, and for each possibility, made predictions of mercury emissions out to 2050. Then they predicted concentrations in the air, the water, and finally, the fish.

Noel Urban is a professor at Michigan Tech. He worked with Gagnon and others on this project.

"For mercury, what we found is that some of the policies that are in place now and that are in consideration now would not be adequate to protect the Upper Peninsula of Michigan in particular," he says.

Global emissions limits currently under consideration were predicted to only decrease mercury concentrations by 11% in fish in the Upper Peninsula by 2050.

As of 2010, China led the world in mercury emissions.

Even if mercury emissions were to stop tomorrow, concentrations were predicted to decrease by about two thirds over that same time period.

In it for the long term

The bottom line is: to solve this problem, it will take decades of global action. But this doesn't seem to deter¹⁶ some people, especially tribal members who hold caring for future generations as a cultural value.

Jerry Jondreau is a member of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

"These issues are bigger than fixing in a day. It's going to take a long time, it's going to take a concerted effort, but we do this for future generations," he says.

Jondreau's tribe helped fundamentally change how this group of scientists approached the problem of contaminated fish. They're still hopeful the rest of the world will follow suit.

To learn more about this research, visit the project website.

1 advisories   

n.（有关进展、动向、建议等的）报告( advisory的名词复数 )；公告；通告；通报

参考例句：

• Compliance with Practice Advisories is optional. 是否遵守实务公告由审计师自行选择决定。 来自互联网
• Hardened-PHP: not as such a PHP security information website, but it does have security advisories. 增强PHP:不仅仅是一个PHP安全新的网站，它还提供安全建议。 来自互联网

2 toxic   

adj.有毒的，因中毒引起的

参考例句：

• The factory had accidentally released a quantity of toxic waste into the sea.这家工厂意外泄漏大量有毒废物到海中。
• There is a risk that toxic chemicals might be blasted into the atmosphere.爆炸后有毒化学物质可能会进入大气层。

3 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

4 technological   

adj.技术的；工艺的

参考例句：

• A successful company must keep up with the pace of technological change.一家成功的公司必须得跟上技术变革的步伐。
• Today,the pace of life is increasing with technological advancements.当今， 随着科技进步，生活节奏不断增快。

5 intake   

n.吸入，纳入；进气口，入口

参考例句：

• Reduce your salt intake.减少盐的摄入量。
• There was a horrified intake of breath from every child.所有的孩子都害怕地倒抽了一口凉气。

6 tribal   

adj.部族的，种族的

参考例句：

• He became skilled in several tribal lingoes.他精通几种部族的语言。
• The country was torn apart by fierce tribal hostilities.那个国家被部落间的激烈冲突弄得四分五裂。

7 criteria   

n.标准

参考例句：

• The main criterion is value for money.主要的标准是钱要用得划算。
• There are strict criteria for inclusion in the competition.参赛的标准很严格。

8 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

9 livelihood   

n.生计，谋生之道

参考例句：

• Appropriate arrangements will be made for their work and livelihood.他们的工作和生活会得到妥善安排。
• My father gained a bare livelihood of family by his own hands.父亲靠自己的双手勉强维持家计。

10 wary   

adj.谨慎的，机警的，小心的

参考例句：

• He is wary of telling secrets to others.他谨防向他人泄露秘密。
• Paula frowned,suddenly wary.宝拉皱了皱眉头，突然警惕起来。

11 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

12 formulate   

v.用公式表示；规划；设计；系统地阐述

参考例句：

• He took care to formulate his reply very clearly.他字斟句酌，清楚地做了回答。
• I was impressed by the way he could formulate his ideas.他陈述观点的方式让我印象深刻。

13 emissions   

排放物( emission的名词复数 )； 散发物（尤指气体）

参考例句：

• Most scientists accept that climate change is linked to carbon emissions. 大多数科学家都相信气候变化与排放的含碳气体有关。
• Dangerous emissions radiate from plutonium. 危险的辐射物从钚放散出来。

14 stationary   

adj.固定的，静止不动的

参考例句：

• A stationary object is easy to be aimed at.一个静止不动的物体是容易瞄准的。
• Wait until the bus is stationary before you get off.你要等公共汽车停稳了再下车。

15 combustion   

n.燃烧；氧化；骚动

参考例句：

• We might be tempted to think of combustion.我们也许会联想到氧化。
• The smoke formed by their combustion is negligible.由它燃烧所生成的烟是可忽略的。

16 deter   

vt.阻止，使不敢，吓住

参考例句：

• Failure did not deter us from trying it again.失败并没有能阻挡我们再次进行试验。
• Dogs can deter unwelcome intruders.狗能够阻拦不受欢迎的闯入者。