1/4/2006
News Release

2006 Sport Fish Consumption Advisories Announced

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (WV DHHR) has updated the West Virginia Sport Fish Consumption Advisory for 2006. DHHR partners with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop consumption advisories for fish caught in West Virginia.

Certain West Virginia sport fish have been found to have low levels of chemicals like PCBs, mercury, and dioxin. To ensure the continued good health of West Virginians, DHHR offers an advisory for how often these fish can be safely eaten. An advisory is advice and should not be viewed as law or regulation. It is intended to help anglers and their families make educated choices about: where to fish, what types of fish to eat, how to limit the amount and frequency of fish eaten, and how to prepare and cook fish to reduce contaminants.

Women of childbearing age, children, and people who regularly eat fish are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. Individuals falling into one of these categories should be especially careful to follow the guidelines.

Fish consumption advisories are reviewed annually and updated as needed. The 2006 advisory is the result of reviewing new and recent fish tissue data. Changes to this year’s advisory include: two additional species – brown trout and flathead catfish - have been added to the general advisory for all West Virginia waters. The recommendation is to eat no more than two meals of these fish per month. The brown trout addition to the general advisory is based on newly acquired PCB and mercury data and flathead catfish were added based on new PCB data.

With the addition of flathead catfish to the general advisory, the specific advisory for the Little Kanawha River is no longer necessary.
The general statewide advisory, the 15 specific bodies of water with stricter guidance and the meal size guide can be reviewed at www.wvdhhr.org/fish,  obtained from DHHR and are listed in the 2006 DNR fishing regulations.

This advisory covers only sport fish caught in West Virginia waters. Safety regulations and advisories for fish in the marketplace are the responsibility of the United Sates Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information you can contact the FDA at www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/mercury/backgrounder.html

 

Click Here To Return To The Previous Page