Fishy Advice

Updated fish consumption advice for 2014 is now available from the DNR’s Eating Your Catch website.

For the annual update, advice has been modified for some fish species anglers may catch from several lakes and rivers. While some updates suggest improved conditions in fish contamination, advice for fish at a few locations became slightly more stringent due to the recent or additional results that are considered along with data from recent years.

“The good news this year is brown trout from Lake Michigan and Chinook salmon from Green Bay may now be eaten safely at a rate of one meal per month,” says Candy Schrank, Department of Natural Resources toxicologist who coordinates fish consumption advice. “A recent study determined that PCB concentrations in Chinook and Coho salmon from Lake Michigan declined during the period from 1975 to 2010.”

Dr. Henry Anderson, chief medical officer of the Department of Health Services, urges anglers to check the 2014 advice to see if there have been any changes for the waters they like to fish but to also consider advice for purchased fish that is eaten. FDA is considering modifications to the advice for purchased fish that are primarily from oceans or fish farms. See FDA’s website for further information: fda.gov.

Choose Wisely: A Health Guide for Eating Fish in Wisconsin is available online as a pamphlet. Further information on Wisconsin’s fish consumption advice can be found by searching the DNR website dnr.wi.gov for “eating your catch.” Printed copies of the pamphlet will be available at DNR service centers and regional offices.