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FISH

Black Butte Reservoir (Glenn and Tehama Counties): Health Advisory for Black Butte Reservoir

OEHHA recommends that females of childbearing age and children aged 17 and younger eat no more than one meal of bass or two meals of channel catfish, carp, or crappie per month from Black Butte Reservoir to protect them from the potential health effects of exposure to methylmercury as a result of sport fish consumption. For other fish in this reservoir and in other water bodies throughout California, it is recommended that females of childbearing age and children aged 17 and younger follow the recent U.S. EPA national freshwater sport fish consumption advice for pregnant or nursing women and young children of no more than four meals per month of fresh water fish (U.S. EPA, 2001).

OEHHA also recommends that females of childbearing age and children aged 17 and younger follow the FDA advice for pregnant women, women of childbearing age who may become pregnant, nursing mothers, and young children on commercial fish consumption. FDA advises these individuals not to eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish because of their high levels of mercury. FDA also recommends that these women can safely eat up to an average of 12 ounces per week of other cooked fish from a store or restaurant such as shellfish, canned fish, smaller ocean fish or farm-raised fish. Children should limit consumption to less than 12 ounces of cooked fish per week. Also, if 12 ounces of cooked fish from a store or restaurant are eaten in a given week, then sport fish caught from Black Butte Reservoir should not be eaten in the same week.

For females beyond their childbearing years and adult males, OEHHA recommends that bass from Black Butte Reservoir be consumed no more than two times per month. Additionally, consumption of channel catfish, crappie, or carp from this reservoir should be limited to no more than four times per month for these individuals. Because of the general pattern of mercury contamination in all fish sampled from Black Butte Reservoir, OEHHA advises that consumption of all other fish for which no specific advice is given above be restricted to no more than 12 meals per month for females beyond their childbearing years and adult males from this reservoir. Additionally, OEHHA recommends that females beyond their childbearing years and adult males take into account the commercial fish they eat, especially high-mercury fish such as shark, swordfish, king mackerel, or tilefish. If they consume these species, they should not eat more than the lowest number of meals recommended for the water bodies where they fish.

As noted above the consumption advice for Black Butte Reservoir should also be applied to Stony Gorge and East Park Reservoirs, which are part of the same watershed. This is prudent because the U.S. EPA national freshwater sport fish consumption advice would not be protective if additional samples confirmed limited results on mercury levels in fish from these reservoirs.

FISH CONSUMPTION GUIDELINES FOR BLACK BUTTE RESERVOIR AND PROVISIONAL GUIDELINES FOR STONY GORGE, AND EAST PARK RESERVOIRS *
Fish Species	Females of Childbearing Age and Children Age 17 and Younger	Females Beyond Childbearing Years and Adult Males
	Maximum Meals Per Month**	Maximum Meals Per Month **
All Bass	1	2
Channel Catfish, Carp, Crappie	2	4
Other Sport Fish***	4	12>
* Although the data for mercury concentrations in nearby lakes or reservoirs are limited, they indicate that other water bodies in the Stony Creek watershed may also have mercury contamination problems. Consumers should apply fish consumption advice developed for Black Butte Reservoir to Stony Gorge and East Park Reservoirs until specific data are available for these reservoirs. ** Consumption limits for each species assume that no other contaminated fish are being eaten. If you eat multiple fish species at multiple sites, limit your total consumption to the amount recommended for the fish with the fewest recommended meals. If you also eat fish from a store or restaurant, do not eat more than the lowest number of meals recommended for the water bodies where you fish. *** All fish species were not evaluated at this reservoir. OEHHA recommends consumption of no more than 4 or 12 meals per month of any fresh water sport fish for sensitive and general adult population groups, respectively, if stricter guidelines are not in place.

Fish are nutritious and should be part of a healthy, balanced diet. As with many other kinds of food, however, it is prudent to consume fish in moderation. OEHHA provides this consumption advice to the public so that people can continue to eat fish without putting their health at risk.

Black Butte Sport Fish

Black Crappie (pomoxis nigromaculatus)

Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punctalus)

Common Carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Largemouth Bass (Micropterus salmoides)

Note: Pictures are not to scale.

Follow this link to download a copy of this advisory as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.

Announcement of Final Report
Evaluation of Potential Health Effects of Eating Fish from Black Butte Reservoir (Glenn and Tehama Counties): Guidelines for Sport Fish Consumption
[12/05/03]

Evaluation of Potential Health Effects of Eating Fish
from Black Butte Reservoir (Glenn and Tehama Counties): Guidelines for Sport Fish Consumption
[03/30/00] Download the Draft Report

Prevalence of Selected Target Chemical Contaminants
in Sport Fish From Two California Lakes: Public Health Designated Screening Study
[02/14/00] Download the Study