January 23, 1997
NEW FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES FOR LAKE MICHIGAN AND WAUKEGAN HARBOR
SPRINGFIELD, IL -- The Illinois Department of Public Health today issued new and revised fish consumption advisories for fish caught in Lake Michigan that include the lifting of a do not eat warning for fish taken from Waukegan Old North Harbor.
Illinois, along with five other Great Lakes states, have adopted a new method of assessing the effect fish flesh contaminants have on humans. The new method was developed specifically to address fish from the Great Lakes.
Consumption advisories for fish caught in other Illinois lakes, streams and rivers are unchanged and continue to utilize a rating system based on U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) levels of concern.
Under the new Great Lakes ratings, eating categories have been expanded to five levels of advice compared to the previous three levels. Do not eat, unlimited consumption (no restriction) and one meal a week advice remain. Added have been categories for one meal a month and one meal every two months.
While both the Great Lakes and FDA rating systems use the same PCB (polychlorinated biphenyl) level to determine fish that should not be eaten at all, the new system uses additional lower PCB levels to decide when fish can be eaten once a week, once a month or once every two months.
As a result of the new advisory changes, rainbow trout, yellow perch and smelt, which were previously listed as unlimited consumption, have moved to the eat once a week category. Large brown trout, most lake trout and chinook salmon were moved from no consumption to either six or 12 times per year. Unchanged from the previous fish advisory are large lake trout, carp and channel catfish of all sizes, which remain in the do not eat category.
The change in the consumption warning for Waukegan Old North Harbor fish, announced in 1993, was made because PCB levels in fish species have declined significantly due to harbor cleanup activities.
Recent tests of fish taken from the harbor found the contamination equivalent to fish in the rest of Lake Michigan, so the new Great Lakes advisory also is now applicable to fish caught in the harbor.
Fish is a good source of high quality protein and is low in cholesterol and harmful fats. Anglers can get the health benefits of fish and reduce unwanted contaminants by following the meal advice and cooking and cleaning recommendations in this advisory.
In any freshwater fishery, anglers who vary the type and source of sport fish consumed -- opting for the younger; smaller fish; avoiding bottom-feeders; and preparing and cooking fish in ways that reduce the amount of contaminants -- can reduce their exposure to fish contaminants.
There are several ways to reduce contaminants in edible portions of the fish:
While there is no known immediate health threat from eating contaminated fish from Lake Michigan or any other Illinois body of water, there are public health concerns about the effects of long-term low-level exposure to the pesticides and chemicals found in the fish listed in the advisories. Laboratory tests have shown that high doses of some PCBs and related contaminants cause adverse health conditions in animals, including cancer, liver damage, and reproductive and developmental damage.
To ensure that fish are safe for consumers to eat, the Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program screens fish samples for contamination from 13 banned pesticides and industrial chemicals.
The fish are collected by the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and tested by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The Department of Public Health bases its consumption advisories on the EPA test results.
This year's advisories are included in the "Illinois 1997 Fishing Information Guide," which is available from DNR or from businesses that sell state fishing licenses. Information also may be found in the EPA's "Guide to Eating Illinois Sport Fish 1997," which will be published in the spring.
The Illinois Fish Contaminant Monitoring Program is a joint effort of the departments of Agriculture, Natural Resources, Nuclear Safety and Public Health and Illinois EPA.
Measure fish from the tip of the nose to the end of the tail. Find the species and size of fish caught in the table that follows. The table shows each kind of fish which has been tested for contaminants. If a species is not listed, it has not been tested. At the top of the table, find the meal advice for the size of fish caught:
No Restriction means you can eat as many meals as you like.
One Meal a Week (52 meals per year), One Meal a Month (12 meals per year), and One Meal Every Two Months (6 meals per year) is advice for how long to wait before eating your next meal of sport fish.
Do Not Eat means no one should eat those fish because of very high contamination.
(Note that the amount of contaminants in a fish listed in the "One Meal a Month" group is four times higher than the amount of contaminants in a fish listed in the "One Meal a Week" group).
One Meal is assumed to be one-half pound of fish (weight before cooking) for a 150 pound person. The meal advice is equally protective for larger people who eat larger meals and smaller people who eat smaller meals. Follow cleaning and cooking directions to prepare fish.
The meal advice that follows is for eating trimmed and skinned fish (except smelt). This advice in this table has been developed to protect infants, children, and women of child bearing age. The advice may be over protective for women beyond child bearing age and adult men.
Special Risk Groups:People who regularly eat sport fish, women of child bearing age, and children under six years of age are particulary susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. If you fall into one of these categories, you should be especially careful to space fish meals out according to the advisory table that follows. Your body can get rid of some contaminants, such as mercury, over time. Spacing the meals out helps prevent the contaminants from building up to harmful levels in the body. For example, if you eat a fish from the "One Meal a Month" group , wait a month before eating another meal of fish from any restricted category. |
Others:Women beyond their childbearing years and men face fewer health risks from contaminants such as mercury and PCBs. For these groups, it is the total number of meals that you eat during the year that becomes 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. Like wise, 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 fouor fish meals from the "One Meal a Week" group. |
| Cleaning and Cooking — It is important to following these cleaning and cooking directions! Cooking does not destroy contaminants in fish, but heat from cooking melts some of the fat in fish and allows some of the contaminated fat to drip away. Broil, grill, or bake the trimmed, skinned fish on a rack so the fat drips away. Do not use the drippings to prepare broth, sauce, chowder or soup. These cleaning and cooking precautions will not reduce the amount of mercury or other metals. Mercury is distributed throughout a fish's muscle tissue (the part you eat) rather than in the fat and skin. Therefore, the only way to reduce mercury intake is to reduce the amount of contaminated fish you eat. |
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Fish Species |
No
|
One Meal a Week (52 meals per Year) |
One Meal a Month (12 meals per year) |
One Meal Every Two Months (6 meals per year) |
DO NOT EAT |
| Chinook Salmon | Less than 30" | Larger than 30" | |||
| Coho Salmon | All sizes | ||||
| Lake Whitefish | Less than 19" | 19" to 25" | Larger than 25" | ||
| Rainbow Trout | Less than 17" | Larger than 17" | |||
| Brown Trout | Less than 22" | Larger than 22" | |||
| Lake Trout | Less than 23" | 23" to 27" | Larger than 27" | ||
| Yellow Perch | All sizes | ||||
| Smelt | All sizes | ||||
| Channel Catfish | All sizes | ||||
| Carp | All sizes | ||||
| A Guide to Your Health Fish are nutritious and good to eat. But some fish may take in contaminants from the water they live in and the food they eat. Some of these contaminants build up in the fish -- and in you -- over time. These contaminants could harm the people who eat them, so it is important to keep your exposure to these contaminants as low as possible. This advisory helps you plan what fish to keep as well as how often and how much sport fish to eat. This advisory is not intended to discourage you from eating fish, but should be used as a guide to eating fish low in contaminants. Health Benefits When properly prepared, fish provide a diet high in protein and low in saturated fats. Many doctors suggest that eating a half pound of fish each week is helpful in preventing heart disease. Almost any kind of fish may have real health benefits when it replaces a high-fat source of protein in the diet. You can get the health benefits of fish and reduce unwanted contaminants by following this advisory. |
Contaminants in Fish Long-lasting contaminants such as PCBs, DDT, and mercury build up in fish in amounts which are a health concern. Health problems which may result from contaminants found in fish range from small changes in health that are hard to detect to birth defects and cancer. The meal advice in this advisory is intended to protect children from potential developmental problems. Adults are less likely to have health problems at the same low levels of exposure that affect children. Although this advisory is primarily based on effects other than cancer, some contaminants cause cancer in animals. Your risk of cancer from eating contaminated fish cannot be predicted with certainty. Cancer currently affects about one in every three people by the age of 70, primarily due to smoking, diet and hereditary risk factors. Exposure to contaminants in the fish you eat may not increase your cancer risk at all. If you follow this advisory over your lifetime, you will minimize your exposure and reduce whatever cancer risk is associated with contaminants. At worst, using U.S. Environmental Protection Agency methods to calculate risk, it is estimated that approximately one additional cancer case may develop in 10,000 people who eat fish according to this advisory over their lifetime. |
FISH CONSUMPTION ADVISORIES FOR ILLINOIS WATERS OTHER THAN LAKE MICHIGAN
| GROUP 1 | Unlimited Consumption — Fish pose little or no health risks. |
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| GROUP 2 | Limited Consumption — Moderate levels of contaminants. NURSING MOTHERS, PREGNANT WOMEN, WOMEN WHO ANTICIPATE BEARING CHILDREN, FEMALE CHILDREN OF ANY AGE, AND MALE CHILDREN AGE 15 OR UNDER SHOULD NOT EAT GROUP 2 FISH. All other individuals should limit their consumption of these fish to no more than one meal per week, and heed the preparation and cooking recommendations given above. ** Further restrict consumption to no more than one meal per month where noted by double asterisk. |
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| GROUP 3 | No Consumption — High levels of contaminants. NO ONE SHOULD EAT GROUP 3 FISH. |
| Cedar Lake GROUP 1: Largemouth and Spotted Bass under 18"GROUP 2: Largemouth and Spotted Bass 18" and larger** GROUP 3: |
Lake Bracken GROUP 1: Bluegill, Crappie, Largemouth BassGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Carp, Channel Catfish |
| Clinton Lake GROUP 1: Carp, Crappie, Channel Catfish under 21", Largemouth Bass, WalleyeGROUP 2: Bigmouth Buffalo, Channel Catfish 21" and larger GROUP 3: |
Lake Decatur GROUP 1: Carp, Carpsuckers, Channel Catfish, Crappie, Flathead Catfish, Freshwater Drum, Largemouth BassGROUP 2: Smallmouth Buffalo GROUP 3: Bigmouth Buffalo |
| Crab Orchard Lake (East of Wolf Creek) GROUP 1: Bluegill, Bullheads, Carp under 21", Channel Catfish Largemouth Bass, White CrappieGROUP 2: Carp 15" and larger GROUP 3: |
Lake Springfield GROUP 1: Carp under 26", Catfish under 15", Crappie, Largemouth BassGROUP 2: Bigmouth Buffalo, Catfish 15" and larger GROUP 3: Carp over 26" |
| Des Plaines River (Lockport to Kankakee River) GROUP 1: Carp under 15", Largemouth BassGROUP 2: Freshwater Drum, Smallmouth Buffalo GROUP 3: Carp 15" and larger, Channel Catfish |
Lake Taylorville GROUP 1: Largemouth BassGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Bigmouth Buffalo, Carp, Channel Catfish |
| Dresden Lake (Not currently open to public. Contact DNR Silver) GROUP 1: Smallmouth BassGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Channel Catfish |
Lake Vermilion GROUP 1: Carp, Crappie, Largemouth BassGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Channel Catfish |
| Highland-Silver Lake GROUP 1: Largemouth BassGROUP 2: Carp, Channel Catfish GROUP 3: |
Lou Yeager Lake GROUP 1: Carp, Largemouth Bass, Channel Catfish Under 18", Crappie, BluegillGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Channel Catfish 18" and larger |
| Illinois River (Headwater to Peoria Lock & Dam) GROUP 1: Carp under 15", Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth BassGROUP 2: GROUP 3: Carp 15" and larger, Channel Catfish |
Mississippi River (Lock & Dam 22 to Cairo) GROUP 1:GROUP 2: GROUP 3: Shovelnose Sturgeon, Sturgeon Eggs |
| Kinkaid Lake GROUP 1:GROUP 2: Largemouth Bass and Spotted Bass** GROUP 3: |
Sangamon River GROUP 1:GROUP 2: GROUP 3: Carp |
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Illinois Department
of Public Health 535 West Jefferson Street Springfield, Illinois 62761 Phone 217-782-4977 Fax 217-782-3987 TTY 800-547-0466 Questions or Comments |