https://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/Current_Advisories.asp

Fish Consumption Advisories Available for 2014

The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) have updated the West Virginia Sport Fish Consumption Advisory for 2014. West Virginia DHHR, through an interagency agreement, partners with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and the Division of Natural Resources (DNR) to develop consumption advisories for fish caught in West Virginia. Fish consumption advisories are reviewed annually and help West Virginia anglers make educated choices about eating the fish they catch.

Certain West Virginia sport fish have been found to have low levels of chemicals like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), mercury, selenium and dioxin. To protect the good health of West Virginians, the West Virginia DHHR offers an advisory for how often these fish can be safely eaten. An advisory is advice, and should not be viewed as law or regulation. It is intended to help anglers and their families make educated choices about: where to fish, what types of fish to eat, how to limit the amount and frequency of fish eaten, and how to prepare and cook fish to reduce contaminants.

This advisory covers only sport fish caught in West Virginia waters. Safety regulations and advisories for fish in the market place are the responsibility of the Federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA). For more information you can contact the FDA at: http://www.fda.gov/Food/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/ucm110591.htm

The following 2014 advisory recommendation is the result of reviewing new and recent fish tissue data. Data collected from lakes and rivers in West Virginia show that a general statewide advisory of sport-caught fish is appropriate. A review of this information indicates that mercury, PCBs, and dioxin are the chemicals of the greatest concern. If you would like more detailed information about these contaminants and the levels measured, consult the DHHR Web Site at http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish.

Body weight and meal size are important factors in fish advisories. Use this chart to find the size of meal that corresponds to your body weight. This advisory is designed to keep the amount of chemicals you eat at a safe level.

Meal Sizes

A person weighing between

Should eat no more than this amount per meal

pounds

ounces of precooked fish

20 or less

1.0

21-35

1.5

36-50

2.0

51-70

3.0

71-90

4.0

91-110

5.0

111-130

6.0

131-150

7.0

151 and over

8.0

Remember that 3.0 ounces of precooked fish is about the size of the palm of your hand or a deck of cards

Remember that 1.5 ounces of precooked fish is about one-half the size of the palm of your hand or one-half of a deck of cards

Find the meal advice for the fish you’ve caught. “Do Not Eat” means you should not eat those fish because of higher contamination. The other groups (“One Meal a Week”, “Two meals a Month”, “One Meal a Month”, and “Six Meals a Year”) are advice for how often to eat fish.

Women of childbearing age, children, and people who regularly eat fish are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. If you fall into one of these categories, you should be especially careful to follow the meal sizes and space fish meals out according to the advisory tables.

Your body can get rid of some contaminants over time. Spacing the meals out helps prevent the contaminants from building up to harmful levels in the body. For example, if the fish you eat is in the “One Meal a Month Group”, wait a month before eating another meal of fish from any restricted category. Occasionally eating fish in quantities slightly greater than the advisories recommend, such as during an annual fishing vacation, should not present a health hazard.Follow the advice presented in this advisory, noting the differences between the General and Specific Advisories for all West Virginia waters and the Ohio River Advisory.

Follow the advice presented in this advisory, noting the differences between the General Advisories for all West Virginia waters and the more restrictive Specific Advisories.

General Advisories 2014 WV Statewide Consumption Advisories

Water Body

Species

Limit your fish meals to:

Contaminants

All Waters in West Virginia

except where listed in the Specific Consumption Advisories.

Hybrid Striped Bass

1 meal a month

Mercury PCBs

White Bass

Black Bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted)

2 meals a month

Channel Catfish greater than 17”

Flathead Catfish

Rock Bass

Walleye and Saugeye

Sauger

All Suckers

Channel Catfish less than 17”

1 meal a week

All Other Species

Rainbow Trout

No Limit

More restrictive advisories issued in 2014 affect the following water bodies:

2014 WV Specific Consumption Advisories

Water Body

Species

Limit your fish meals to:

Contaminant(s)*

Bluestone River

Carp

1 meal a month

PCBs

Fish Creek

Smallmouth Bass, all sizes

1 meal a month

Mercury

Flat Fork Creek

Carp

Do not eat

PCBs

Channel Catfish, all sizes

Suckers

Kanawha River

downstream of I-64 bridge in Dunbar including all backwaters, Armour Creek, Heizer Creek, Manila Creek, lower two miles Pocatalico River

Flathead Catfish, all sizes

Do not eat

Dioxin* Mercury PCBs

Channel Catfish, all sizes

Carp

Hybrid Striped Bass

Suckers

All other species

1 meal a month

Little Kanawha and Hughes River

Sauger

1 meal a month

Mercury

Upper Mud and Mount Storm lakes, and Pinnacle Creek**

Follow Advisory Guidelines for WV Statewide Consumption.

Selenium

R.D. Bailey Lake

Channel Catfish greater than 17”

6 meals a year

PCBs

Shenandoah River

Carp

Do not eat

Mercury PCBs*

Smallmouth bass

1 meal a month

Mercury

Summersville Lake

Flathead Catfish, all sizes

1 meal a month

Mercury

1 meal a monthh

Sutton Lake

Black Bass, all sizes

1 meal a month

Mercury

Note: *Contaminant- Meal Limits are determined by the chemical with asterisk. Other chemicals, such as dioxin, (Hg) methyl mercury may have an advisory at a less restrictive level.

**Measureable levels of selenium were detected in samples from the listed water bodies. The levels measured would suggest advisories that are less restrictive or consistent with the statewide consumption advice in place for mercury and PCBs.

PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls

- The protocol used to determine Ohio River fish consumption advisories (ORFCAP) is the product of the efforts of a multi-agency workgroup consisting of representatives from the six main stem states (Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) as well as the US EPA and the Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) to develop consistent fish advisories along the Ohio River main stem. The online Ohio River advisory is available at: http://216.68.102.178/comm/fishconsumption/default.asp , please refer to the website for recent updates.

2014 Ohio River Consumption Advisory

Ohio River Segmentt

Species

Limit your fish meals to:

Contaminant(s)*

Pennsylvania

Border (East

Liverpool) to

Belleville Lock (Brooke

Hancock, Marshall

Ohio, Pleasants

Tyler, Wetzel, Wood

Counties)

Channel Catfish 18” and over

Do Not Eat

PCBs

Channel Catfish less than 18”,

Common Carp, Striped Bass Hybrid,

White Bass

6 meals a year

Black Crappie

Flathead Catfish

Freshwater Drum 14”and over

Largemouth Bass

Sauger

Saugeye

Smallmouth Bass

Smallmouth Buffalo

Spotted Bass

All Suckers

Walleye

White Crappie

1 meal a monthh

Belleville Lock to the Kentucky Border (Cabell, Jackson Mason, Wayne Counties)

Channel Catfish 18” and over

6 meals a year

PCBs

Channel Catfish less than 18”

Common Carp

Flathead Catfish

Freshwater Drum 14” and over

Striped Bass

Striped Bass Hybrid

All Suckers

White Bass

1 meal a month

Note:*Contaminant- Meal Limits are determined by the chemical with asterisk. Other chemicals, such as dioxin, (Hg) methyl mercury may have an advisory at a less restrictive level.

PCBs: Polychlorinated Biphenyls

For further information or the most current advice consult the WV DHHR Web Site at www.wvdhhr.org/fish or call (304) 558-2771.

Other contacts:

Consult the WV Division of Natural Resources Web Site at www.wvdnr.gov/fishing/fishing.shtm or call (304) 558-2771. www.dep.wv.gov/or call (304) 926-0495. Consult the US EPA Web Site at www.epa.gov/ost/fish

Duane Nichols, Cell- 304-216-5535.

www.FrackCheckWV.net