OEHA Links

• What's New?

• Office of Environmental Health Assessments Programs (OEHA)

• Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program (CSEPP)

• Environmental Public Health Tracking Network (W-EPHTN)

• Site Assessment Section 

• Hazardous Substances Emergency Events Surveillance Program (HSEES)

• Fish Consumption Advisories

• Fish Facts Web Site

• Mercury Web Site

• Statewide Bass Advisory

• Statewide Fish Advisory for Mercury

• Fish Facts for Good Health Brochure

• PBDE Web Site

• Fact Sheets

• Press Releases 

• Publications

• Location

• Staff

• Related Links

Environmental Health Links

• Learn more about the Division of Environmental Health

• Alternative File Format Information
 

Fish and Shellfish Consumption Advisories in Washington State 

This site provides information to anglers and their families on fish and shellfish consumption advisories issued for specific water bodies in Washington State due to chemical contamination. The Office of Food Safety and Shellfish Programs provides information on shellfish closures due to general pollution or biotoxin contamination which can be found at the Shellfish Beach Closures site. In addition to the specific advisories listed below DOH has issued statewide fish advisories for mercury in some commercial fish and freshwater bass.  Information is also provided on the health benefits of eating fish and how you can generally reduce your intake of chemical contaminants through simple fish cleaning and cooking techniques. 

Please check the DOH Viewer Page to locate the appropriate free viewer or converter to download these documents to your computer.

Table of Contents

• Background
• About Advisories in Washington
• Health Benefits of Eating Fish
• Cooking and Cleaning Fish
• Other Important Links

Background

With over seven thousand lakes, ponds and reservoirs, seventy thousand miles of streams, and nearly three thousand miles of saltwater shoreline, Washington’s fishery is diverse and provides for some of the finest fishing anywhere. The consumption of locally caught fish and shellfish by recreational to subsistence anglers reflects a uniquely Washington way of life. While the water quality of Washington’s lakes, rivers, and marine waters is generally good, the legacy of past industrial, agricultural, municipal, and urban discharges, combined with current chemical discharges, has resulted in unsafe levels of chemical contamination in some areas.

Although a water way or embayment may look clean, extremely small amounts of some chemicals in the water or sediment can build up in fish or shellfish to concentrations which are of health concern to people who eat the fish or shellfish. Advisories for Washington waters are issued to inform anglers and their families of these possible health effects and provide guidance on how you can reduce your exposure to some contaminants contained in fish and shellfish.

About Advisories in Washington

Public health protection in Washington State is a shared responsibility between the State Department of Health and 34 local health jurisdictions. This responsibility includes informing citizens of the possible health hazards associated with eating chemically contaminated fish and shellfish from contaminated waters. Due to the lack of a statewide fish consumption advisory program, the basis for and science supporting each of these advisories varies between issuing organizations.

While it is generally believed that most surface waters in Washington are cleaner than a decade ago, new information on the health effects of some chemicals, fish or shellfish tissue concentrations, and/or human exposure, may warrant the continued posting of an advisory, the elimination of others, or the establishment of new ones. As new information becomes available, it is up to the issuing agency to update the advisory. For more specific information on the following advisories and the most up to date information, please contact the agency responsible for issuing the particular advisory. In general, DOH cautions anglers against the consumption of fish or shellfish from any of the industrialized urban embayments of Puget Sound.

Fish and/or shellfish advisories due to chemical contamination have been issued for the following Washington waters.
(Revised 10/10/2005)

* NOTE: The assumed fish meal size for an adult is 8 ounces (oz.).  A child meal is assumed to be smaller. For example, the meal size for a 6-year old child weighing 45 pounds is 4 ounces while a 3-year old child weighing about 30 pounds should eat only 2 or 3 ounces per meal. If you eat the recommended amount of fish from an advisory area choose other fish meals that are low in contaminants.  Some good choices are cod, flounder, salmon, trout, and canned light tuna.