Reducing Exposure to Chemical Contaminants from Fish

What You Can Do

General Advice

Fish are an important source of protein and are low in saturated fat. Naturally occurring fish oils lower plasma cholesterol and triglycerides, thereby decreasing the risk of coronary heart disease. Increasing fish consumption is useful in reducing dietary fat and controlling weight. By eating a diet that includes food from a variety of protein sources, an individual is more likely to have a diet that is adequate in all nutrients.

Although eating fish has some health benefits, fish with high contaminant levels should be avoided. When deciding whether or not to eat fish that may be contaminated, the benefits of eating those fish can be weighed against the risks.

For young women, eating contaminated fish is a health concern not only for themselves but also for any unborn or nursing child, since the chemicals may reach the unborn babies and can be passed on in mother's milk. For an older person with heart disease, the risks, especially of long-term health effects, may not be as great a concern when compared to the benefits of reducing the risks of heart disease.

Everyone can benefit from eating the fish they catch and can minimize their contaminant intake by following these general recommendations:

Choose uncontaminated species from waterbodies which are not listed in the DOH advisories.
When preparing sportfish, use a method of filleting the fish that will reduce the skin, fatty material and dark meat. These parts of the fish contain many of the contaminants.
When deciding which sportfish to eat, choose smaller fish, consistent with DEC regulations, within a species since they may have lower contaminant levels. Older (larger) fish within a species may be more contaminated because they have had more time to accumulate contaminants in their bodies.
To reduce exposures to mercury, avoid or eat less largemouth and smallmouth bass, northern pike, pickerel, walleye and larger yellow perch (e.g., longer than 10 inches) because these fish tend to have higher mercury levels.
To reduce exposures to PCBs, dioxin, mirex, DDT, chlordane and dieldrin, avoid or eat less American eel, bluefish, carp, lake trout, striped bass, white and channel catfish, and white perch because these fish tend to have higher levels of these contaminants.
Do not eat the soft green tissue (mustard, tomalley, liver or hepatopancreas) found in the body section of crab and lobster. This tissue has been found to contain high levels of chemical contaminants, including PCBs and heavy metals.
When eating sportfish, use cooking methods such as broiling, poaching, boiling and baking, which allow contaminants from the fatty portions of fish to drain out. Pan frying is not recommended. The cooking liquids and fat drippings of fish from contaminated waters should be discarded since these liquids may retain contaminants.
Anglers who want to enjoy the fun of fishing but who wish to eliminate the potential risks associated with eating contaminated sportfish may want to consider "catch and release" fishing.

Cleaning and Cooking Your Fish

You can reduce the amount of the contaminants in a fish meal by properly trimming, skinning, and cooking your catch. Remove the skin and trim all the fat: the belly flap, the line along the sides, the fat along the back and under the skin.

Cooking does not destroy contaminants in fish. Broil, grill, or bake the trimmed, skinned fish on a rack so that the fat drips away. Do not use drippings to prepare sauces or gravies. If you deep fry the fish, do not reuse the cooking oil.

These precautions will not reduce the amount of mercury or other metals. Mercury is distributed throughout a fish's muscle tissue (the part you eat), rather than in the fat and skin. Therefore, the only way to reduce mercury intake is to reduce the amount of contaminated fish you eat.

For more information from DOH on health effects from exposure to chemical contaminants, contact:
Environmental Health Information
1-800-458-1158 ext. 27815 (toll free number)
Leave your name, number and brief message. Your call will be returned as soon as possible.
Out-of-State callers should dial (518) 458-6409
You can also look at their website (see link below).

For more DEC information on contaminant levels in sportfish, contact:

Bureau of Habitat, 625 Broadway, Albany, New York 12233-4756