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OHIO: EPA Releases 2010 Fish Advisory

Fish Consumption Advisory Information Available for 2010

In the 2010 fish consumption advisory, Ohio has relaxed the consumption advisories for five locations, added more strict limits in five waterways and updated advisories for eight additional waterways for a total of 18 changes.

The state has developed the fish consumption advisory updates for the 2010 fishing season based on detection levels found in samples taken in 28 waterways in the 2008 fishing season.

A statewide advisory remains in effect for one fish meal per week for all fish not otherwise specified due to mercury still found in fish tissue samples.  Mercury poses the greatest risk for women of child-bearing age, pregnant and nursing mothers and children under 15.  Fish contaminated with high levels of mercury have been shown to cause neurological damage and impaired development of young children.

Relaxed advisories are issued for five lakes due to lower mercury levels detected.  People can now eat two fish meals per week from the following lakes:

• Buckeye Lake for black crappie and saugeye;
• Clear Fork Reservoir for largemouth bass;
• Dillon Lake for common carp and largemouth bass;
• Kiser Lake for largemouth bass; and
• Pymatuning Reservoir for largemouth bass.

Tighter limitations are recommended for safely consuming your catch in the following water bodies:

• Chagrin River – One meal per month is advised for rock bass and small mouth bass in the stretch from I-90 to Lake Erie due to mercury.

• Cuyahoga River – One meal per month advisories have been added and the scope of the advisory changed  to the following river sections:  State Route 87 (Russell Park) to Ohio Edison Dam Pool added due to PCB levels in common carp and mercury levels in black crappie and white sucker 16” and over; Ohio Edison Dam Pool to Lake Erie for PCBs found in brown bullhead, channel catfish, and common carp, and mercury found  in white sucker 16” and over.

• Great Miami River – One meal per month advisories have been added and the scope of the advisory changed for the following river sections:  downstream of Indian Lake to Lowhead Dam at Monument Avenue for PCBs in common carp and flathead catfish, PCBs and mercury in channel catfish, and mercury in smallmouth bass and white bass.  The advisory for fish caught downstream of Lowhead Dam at Monument Avenue has not changed from 2009.  This includes a do-not-eat advisory from Lowhead Dam at

Monument Avenue to State Route 73 near Middletown for all suckers due to PCB levels; one meal per month advisories due to PCB levels for common carp and flathead catfish, PCB and mercury levels in channel catfish, and mercury levels in smallmouth bass and white bass; a do-not-eat advisory from State Route 73 near Middletown to Harrison Pike for all suckers due to PCB levels; one meal every two months due to PCB levels in common carp, PCB and lead levels in flathead catfish and striped bass hybrids; one meal per month due to PCBs in channel catfish, freshwater drum, saugeye, smallmouth buffalo, and mercury in white bass; a do-not-eat advisory from Harrison Pike to the Ohio River for all suckers due to PCBs; one meal every two months due to PCBs in common carp, PCB and lead in flathead catfish and striped bass hybrids; one meal per month due to PCBs in channel catfish, freshwater drum, saugeye, smallmouth buffalo, and due to mercury in largemouth bass 15” and over and white bass.

• Lake Erie – One meal every two months is advised due to PCBs for channel catfish, common carp 27” and over and lake trout.  One meal per month is advised due to PCBs for Chinook salmon 19” and over, coho salmon, common carp under 27”, freshwater drum, smallmouth bass, steelhead trout, white bass, whitefish and  white perch, and due to PCB and mercury in rock bass, and mercury in brown bullhead and largemouth bass.

• Lake Milton – One common carp meal per month is advised due to PCBs.

• Maumee River- one meal per month is advised from the Indiana state line to Waterville due to PCBs for freshwater drum and smallmouth bass, mercury and PCBs for smallmouth buffalo and mercury for common carp and flathead catfish.  One meal every two months is advised from Waterville to Lake Erie due to PCBs in channel catfish.  One meal per month is advised due to PCBs in freshwater drum and smallmouth bass, mercury and PCBs in smallmouth buffalo and mercury in common carp and flathead catfish.

• Mohican River – One meal per month is advised from County Highway 23 to the Walhonding River for common carp due to PCBs and for rock bass due to mercury.

• Portage River – One meal every two months is advised for channel catfish and common carp due to PCBs.

• Rocky Fork Mohican River – One meal per month is advised from I-71 to the Mohican River due to PCBs for channel catfish and common carp.

• Swan Creek – One meal per month is advised from Weckerley Road to Lake Erie due to PCBs for common carp and mercury for northern pike.

• Toussaint Creek – One meal per month is advised from U.S. Route 23 to Lake Erie due to PCBs for common carp.

• Veteran’s Memorial Reservoir – Two meals per week are advised for white crappie and one meal per month for common carp, both due to mercury.

• Walhonding River –m One meal per month is advised for all waters for channel catfish due to PCBs found in freshwater drum.

In addition to these updates, all Ohio fish advisories can be found on Ohio EPA’s Web site at http://www.epa.state.oh.us/dsw/fishadvisory/index.aspx or by calling 1-800-755-4769 or (614) 644-2160.  Fish consumption advisory contact information will be provided to anglers in the Ohio Fishing Regulations booklet with fishing license purchase, beginning on March 1, 2010.

More detailed information about fish consumption can be found at Women, Infant and Children (WIC) Centers, local health departments, Ohio Department of Natural Resources district offices and Ohio EPA offices.

Ohio EPA partners with the Ohio Department of Health and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to develop consumption advisories for fish caught in Ohio.  Fish consumption advisories are updated annually based on processed samples collected during the previous fishing season.

For the latest advisory, Ohio EPA and ODNR evaluated 469 samples.  The information helps Ohio=s fishing community make informed decisions about consuming their catch.  To learn more about fishing and shellfish purchased outside Ohio, please visit the federal government Web site: www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/sea-mehg.html.

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