NY State Health Advisory
for Fish Consumption

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Advisory Information Links

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) routinely monitors contaminant levels in fish and wildlife. The New York State Department of Health (DOH) issues an advisory on eating sportfish and wildlife taken in New York State because some of these foods contain potentially harmful levels of chemical contaminants. The health advisories are: (1) general advice on sportfish taken from waters in New York State; (2) advice on sportfish from specific waterbodies; and (3) advice on wildlife. The advisory is developed and updated annually.

The information presented here is a summary of information provided by the Department of Health. For the most up-to-date and accurate data regarding fish consumption advisories, visit the New York Department of Health's website (see link at bottom of page). The site contains a complete, current booklet on this topic, available in pdf format.

General Advisory for Eating Sportfish

The general health advisory for sportfish is that you eat no more than one meal (one-half pound) per week of fish taken from the state's freshwaters and some marine waters at the mouth of the Hudson River. These include the New York waters of the Hudson River, Upper Bay of New York Harbor (north of Verrazano Narrows Bridge), Arthur Kill, Kill Van Kull, Harlem River and the East River to the Throgs Neck Bridge. This general advisory is to protect against eating large amounts of fish that have not been tested or may contain unidentified contaminants. The general advisory does not apply to most marine waters.

Specific Advisories for Freshwaters

Over 70 waterbodies in New York State have fish with contaminant levels greater then federal standards. The DOH recommendations suggest either limiting or avoiding eating a specific kind of fish from particular waterbodies. In some cases, enough information is available to issue advisories based on the length of the fish. Older (larger) fish are often more contaminated than younger (smaller) fish.

Health advice is also given for infants, children under the age of fifteen and women of childbearing age. The DOH recommends that they not eat any fish species from the specific waterbodies listed in the advisory. The reason for this specific advice is that chemicals may have a greater effect on developing organs in young children or in the fetus. They also build up in women's bodies and are often passed on in mothers' milk.

Waters which have specific advisories have at least one species of fish with an elevated contaminant level which means that a contamination source is in or near the water.

People who regularly eat sportfish, women of childbearing age, and children, are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. If you fall into one of these categories, you should consider if you need to space your fish meals. Spacing the meals out helps prevent some of the contaminants from building up to harmful levels in the body.

Women beyond their childbearing years and men face fewer health risks from contaminants such as mercury. However, if you are in this group, you should also follow the advisory to reduce your total exposure to contaminants. For these groups, it is the total number of meals that you eat during the year that is important and many of those meals can be eaten during a few months of the year. If most of the fish you eat are from the "One Meal a Week" category, you should not exceed 52 meals per year. Likewise, if most of the fish you eat are in the "One Meal a Month" category, you should not exceed 12 meals per year. Remember, eating one meal of fish from the "One Meal a Month" group is comparable to eating four meals from the "One Meal a Week" group. You should review the advisories together if you eat fish from more than one waterbody. For example, if you eat a meal of Saw Mill River carp, you should not eat American eel from Kinderhook Lake for the rest of that month. Both of these fish species have eat no more than one meal per month advisories and both are based on PCB contamination.

Other Links of Interest

New York Department of Health- for more detailed information on fish consumption advisories; this site contains a complete, current booklet on the topic, available in pdf format.