Finding Fins Show #50: Can Harmful Algae Toxins Be Transmitted Through Fish??

On this podcast, host Bret Amundson is joined by Ali Shakoor to find out whether or not harmful algae toxins can be transmitted to humans through the flesh of fish.

Ali is a tournament angler, and he’s a biologist currently studying algae blooms on Lake Erie. They already know that toxins from algae can harm humans and even be fatal to dogs, but it’s not really known if these toxins can be passed on through anything. One of the questions is whether or not these harmful algae toxins can be absorbed by fish and then transmitted to humans if they eat the fish.

He explains what kind of technology they’re using on Lake Erie to find algae blooms and what they’re doing after a bloom is located. Spoiler: It’s some pretty high-tech and fascinating stuff. Ali tells us what they’ve learned during the study so far, and why learning more about harmful algae blooms is important for humans, walleyes, other fish, and the ecosystem in general.

Bret and Ali met at the Association of Great Lakes Outdoor Writers annual conference in Branson, so they talk about how the conference is going and why they both enjoy it and the organization so much. This is Ali’s first AGLOW conference, so Bret gets a newbie’s perspective and finds out how he learned about AGLOW.

Ali has a ton of knowledge as an angler and as a biologist. We’ll definitely be having him back on the show to pick his brain some more about fish! Maybe he can help Bret catch more walleyes, because no one else seems to be able to help him!

You can find Ali on Instagram: @ali_shakoor_fishing, Twitter: @fishsciencedude and Facebook: Ali Shakoor Fishing.