State issues advisory: limit amount of fish you eat from these local rivers
Two Eastern Sierra rivers, the Owens and the East Walker, are on a list of waters with enough mercury and other toxins found in some fish to trigger a warning, the state said this week. The two rivers have been added to this list for the first time ever.
According to the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, people can still eat fish from these rivers but, in moderation.
“The advisory is intended to be a guide for eating fish caught in these rivers, along with other rivers, streams and creeks that are not covered by a specific advisory,” the state said. “This is the first time that safe-eating guidelines have been provided for these rivers.”
Here is why residents and anglers should limit their intake of fish from these rivers.
“The new advisory is based on the levels of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) found in fish collected from more than 700 sites, including popular rivers frequented by anglers all over California,” they said. “These include the Los Angeles, Santa Ana and Kern rivers in Southern California; the Merced River in Central California; the Owens, Truckee and East Walker rivers in Eastern California; and the Klamath, Smith, McCloud and Eel rivers in Northern California.”
The agency has previously issued general advisories for coastal areas, lakes and reservoirs, and fish that migrate between inland water bodies and the Pacific Ocean, it said.
HOW TO SAFELY CONSUME FISH FROM THESE RIVER
• Women ages 18 – 49 and children ages 1 – 17 should not eat black bass species, catfish species, Common Carp, Goldfish, Sacramento Pikeminnow or Sacramento Sucker. They may safely eat a maximum of two total servings per week of Red Shiner; or one total serving per week of Brown Trout, bullhead species, Rainbow Trout or sunfish species.
• Women ages 50 and older and men ages 18 and older may safely eat a maximum of five total servings per week of Red Shiner; or three total servings per week of bullhead species or Rainbow Trout; or two total servings per week of Brown Trout or sunfish species; or one total serving per week of black bass species, catfish species, Common Carp, Goldfish, Sacramento Pikeminnow or Sacramento Sucker.
• One serving is an eight-ounce fish fillet, measured prior to cooking, which is roughly the size and thickness of your hand.
• Children should eat smaller servings. For small fish species, such as Red Shiner, several individual fish may make up a single serving.
