Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
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FISH

Health Advisory
Catching and Eating Sport Fish in California

Fish are nutritious and good for you to eat. But some fish you catch may take in toxic chemicals from the water they live in and the food they eat. Some of these chemicals build up in the fish--and in you--over time. Although the levels found are usually low, large amounts may be harmful. It's a good idea to follow a few precautions in consuming fish, particularly if you eat fish often. This advisory gives some tips on how you should catch, prepare, and eat fish. It is not intended to discourage you from eating fish, but should be used as a guide to make your sport fish eating safer.

Fish that contain high levels of toxic chemicals are found in many different parts of California. Here are some examples of those places:

  • Southern California (Los Angeles area) - certain kinds of fish contain high levels of industrial chemicals and pesticides. White croakers in some locations should not be eaten, and other fish should be eaten in limited amounts.
  • San Francisco Bay and Delta - mercury, PCBs, and other chemicals have been found in fish. Advisories have been issued for most sport fish species.
  • Coastal inland lakes - fish in some lakes have high levels of mercury.

The amounts of chemicals found in sport fish in California are not known to cause immediate sickness. But chemicals can collect in the body over time and they may eventually affect your health or that of your children. Some of the adverse health effects that might occur from continued exposure to high levels of toxic chemicals in fish are:

  • Cancer
  • Slower growth or brain damage in children
  • Kidney damage

When places are found with fish that contain high levels of chemicals, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) issues health advisories. The advisories tell how much of the fish you can eat without worry, or whether it is recommended to eat any at all. These advisories appear in the California Sport Fishing Regulations booklet and are also available from OEHHA.

There may be locations that are not yet known where fish and shellfish may be contaminated with chemicals. If you fish for sport or to feed your family, you can reduce your exposure to harmful chemicals by taking the precautions below. Following this general advice and any advisories for specific locations where you fish will protect your health and your family's health.

Tips to Protect Your Health

Fish in a variety of locations rather than in one location
Chemical levels can vary from place to place. Your overall exposure to chemicals is likely to be lower if you fish at a variety of places rather than one usual spot that might have high contamination levels.

Eat different types of fish
Some species of fish have more chemicals than others due to different feeding behaviors. You can reduce your intake of chemicals if you eat smaller amounts of several different types of fish, rather than a large amount of one type that may have high levels of chemicals.

Eat smaller fish
Some chemicals can build up in fish with age. The larger the fish, the higher the levels of chemicals they may contain, within the same species. For example, large striped bass (over 36 inches) may contain as much as 20 times more mercury than small striped bass (18 to 20 inches). It's always fun to catch large fish, but it's safer to eat smaller ones. If you keep large fish, freeze some of the fish and eat smaller meals spaced out over time.

Cooking and Preparing Fish

Eat only fillet portions
The fillet portions of fish are the safest parts to eat. Chemicals tend to be much higher in the guts and liver of fish. Do not eat these parts and do not use them to make sauces, stock or chowder.

Trim away fat
Many chemicals, including DDT, PCBs and dioxins, are stored in the fat. You can reduce your exposure to these chemicals by trimming fatty areas. Fat is located along the back, belly, and lateral line (See figure). Also, skin the fish to remove the thin layer of fat under the skin.

Cook so that fat drips off
Bake, broil, steam, or grill fish on a rack so that the juices from the fat drip off during cooking. Throw out the juices. Deep frying in vegetable oil (not animal fats like butter) or poaching will also remove some of the fat, but discard the liquid after cooking. Chowders and stews are not advisable .

Cook fish or shellfish that you catch and observe quarantines
Certain fin fish may carry parasites (worms), and shellfish that you gather may have viruses or infectious bacteria that can make you sick . Thorough cooking will destroy harmful parasites and germs. Some shellfish, particularly mussels, may contain natural toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) or other serious illness, and even death. Cooking will not destroy these toxins, so it is important to observe shellfish quarantines.

Mussels are quarantined from May 1 through October 30 in California, and local quarantines may be posted for other bivalves. Call the 24-hour PSP information line for recorded information about quarantines at (800) 553-4133 in California, or at (510) 540-2605 (for callers in the 510 area, or out of state). For more information on natural contaminants in fish and shellfish, contact the regional marine advisor for your area by calling the Cooperative Extension Office under the county government listings in your phone book.

The annual mussel quarantine does not apply to companies licensed by the State as certified shellfish harvesters. The California Department of Health Services tests and certifies the shellfish from these companies to be safe. Commercially harvested fish purchased in stores or restaurants are also subject to inspection and regulation, and are not permitted on the market if found to contain chemicals that exceed regulatory limits.

Lowering your risk
Each of the recommendations above helps lower your chances of taking in harmful chemicals when you eat fish. Follow as many of them as you can. If you follow this advice and any OEHHA advisories that apply to places where you fish, you will protect your health and you will benefit from this nutritious source of food. Refer to the California Sport Fishing Regulations booklet or call OEHHA for information on specific advisories.

Special risk populations
OEHHA's specific advisories often recommend lower eating amounts for pregnant women, women who plan to get pregnant, women who are breastfeeding, and children who are 5 years or younger. Some chemicals may be passed on to the unborn child through the placenta or to the newborn through the mother's milk. Babies and young children have developing organs and systems, including the brain, that are more affected by some chemicals. Following the advisories is therefore especially important for these special risk groups.

For more information
Please contact:

California Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment
Sacramento headquarters,

PETB
1001 I Street,
Sacramento, CA 95814
(916) 327-7319

our mailing address:
Post Office Box 4010
Sacramento, CA 95812-4010.

Oakland office, (510) 622-3170
OEHHA/PETB
1515 Clay Street, 16th floor
Oakland, CA 94612 

 
 
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