HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) — People looking to eat the fish they catch may benefit from reading the 2025 fish consumption advisories.
ADPH annually updates the fish consumption advisories based on data gathered by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management from the previous fall.
ADEM, the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources collected samples of specific fish species to analyze from various bodies of water throughout the state in the fall of 2024.
This includes 492 samples from 42 collection stations. ADPH assessed the results to find whether any tested contaminants in the fish could cause potential health effects.
The main contaminants in Alabama are:
- Mercury
- Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)
- Perfluoralkyl sulfonate (PFOS)
These advisories are issued for specific bodies of water and fish taken from those areas. In reservoirs, advisories apply to waters as far as a boat can be taken upstream to full pool elevations.
Recently, ADEM has been putting up signs at many public boat launches with a QR code. The code on the sign can be scanned with a mobile phone and will link to the advisory map. The map can also be found at the ADEM website.
Newly issued advisories are the safe amount of fish that can be eaten in a given time, such as meals per week, meals per month or do not eat any. A meal consists of six ounces of cooked fish or eight ounces of raw fish.
New and updated consumption advisories released for the 42 bodies of water tested can be found on the ADPH Toxicology website.
The advice in the release is offered as a guide for people who want to eat fish they catch from the various bodies of water throughout Alabama. However, no regulations ban the consumption of any of the fish caught within the state, nor is there a risk of an acute toxic episode that could happen from eating any of the fish containing the contaminants, which the State has done tests on.
A general rule of thumb is that older, larger fish have eaten more and have been in the water longer, so there is a higher chance for contaminants being in their bodies.
A fish consumption advisory can be issued for one or more specific species of fish within a body of water, or an advisory can be extended to include all fish species there.
When excess levels of a contaminant are found in a specific species of fish, an advisory is issued for that specific species.
When excess levels of a contaminant are found in multiple fish species sampled from a specific body of water, a Do Not Eat Any advisory would be issued. Eating a fish from an area under a Do Not Eat Any advisory may put the consumer at risk for harm.
If a species is listed in the advisory, it is safe to assume that a similar species with similar feeding habits should be eaten with caution. For example, if black crappie is listed and white crappie is not, because they are in the same family, all crappie would fall under the listed advisory.
To see the full list of contaminated fish in Alabama, click here.
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