How to Avoid Eating Fish Containing Pollutants
Try to avoid mercury in fish., Restrict your intake of mercury fish., Eat less fish that high in PCBs., Check the pollutant information in areas you fish recreationally.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Try to avoid mercury in fish.
Mercury is most dangerous to small children and pregnant women, those are who should be most concerned about mercury in fish.
Children under the age of six and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who intend to get pregnant in the next year should:
Avoid ahi, albacore, and bigeye tuna (depending on where they were fished), swordfish, shark, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, and shellfish.
You should also avoid tilefish, especially from the Gulf of Mexico.
Avoid any fish caught in any waters that are subject to a mercury advisory.
To find current advisories, visit the Environmental Protection Agency website.
For local advisories, visit your state, county, or other local fish agency. -
Step 2: Restrict your intake of mercury fish.
If you do eat fish that possibly contain mercury, restrict your intake.
For example, the EPA recommends no more than ⅔ of a can of albacore tuna per week.Eat 12 ounces, or two to three meals, each week of fish that do not contain mercury., To reduce your exposure to PCBs, refrain from eating fish that have high levels of it.
You can have around four ounces, or one meal, every week or two of black bass, carp, freshwater perch, grouper, halibut, lobster, mahi mahi, snapper, Spanish mackerel from the south Atlantic, tilefish from the Atlantic, and white croaker from the Pacific.Do not eat striped bass, blue fish, Chilean sea bass, king mackerel, marlin, Spanish mackerel from the Gulf of Mexico, and walleye from the Great Lakes and Canada. , If you fish and want to eat what you catch, make sure you check local and government websites for any state or local fish consumption advisories.
If you are fishing in an area where there are contaminated waters, refrain from eating the fish.If you are unsure about the waters you are fishing in, be safe and practice catch-and-release. -
Step 3: Eat less fish that high in PCBs.
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Step 4: Check the pollutant information in areas you fish recreationally.
Detailed Guide
Mercury is most dangerous to small children and pregnant women, those are who should be most concerned about mercury in fish.
Children under the age of six and women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or who intend to get pregnant in the next year should:
Avoid ahi, albacore, and bigeye tuna (depending on where they were fished), swordfish, shark, king mackerel, marlin, orange roughy, and shellfish.
You should also avoid tilefish, especially from the Gulf of Mexico.
Avoid any fish caught in any waters that are subject to a mercury advisory.
To find current advisories, visit the Environmental Protection Agency website.
For local advisories, visit your state, county, or other local fish agency.
If you do eat fish that possibly contain mercury, restrict your intake.
For example, the EPA recommends no more than ⅔ of a can of albacore tuna per week.Eat 12 ounces, or two to three meals, each week of fish that do not contain mercury., To reduce your exposure to PCBs, refrain from eating fish that have high levels of it.
You can have around four ounces, or one meal, every week or two of black bass, carp, freshwater perch, grouper, halibut, lobster, mahi mahi, snapper, Spanish mackerel from the south Atlantic, tilefish from the Atlantic, and white croaker from the Pacific.Do not eat striped bass, blue fish, Chilean sea bass, king mackerel, marlin, Spanish mackerel from the Gulf of Mexico, and walleye from the Great Lakes and Canada. , If you fish and want to eat what you catch, make sure you check local and government websites for any state or local fish consumption advisories.
If you are fishing in an area where there are contaminated waters, refrain from eating the fish.If you are unsure about the waters you are fishing in, be safe and practice catch-and-release.
About the Author
Nancy Jimenez
Writer and educator with a focus on practical organization knowledge.
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