&EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4305
EPA-823-F-98-009
March 1998
Fact Sheet
Update: Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories
Summary
The 1997 update for the database, Listing of Fish and Wildlife Advisories (LFWA), is now available from the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA). This database includes all available information describing state-, tribal-, and federally issued fish consump-
tion advisories in the United States for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and four U.S. territories and has been expanded to
include the 12 Canadian provinces and territories. The database contains information provided to EPA by the states, tribes, and
Canada as of December j 997. This includes advisories issued by the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission for several
Native American tribes in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. The number of advisories in the U.S. rose by 125 in 1997 to a total
of 2,299, a 5% increase over 1996. The number of waterbodies under advisory represents 16.5% of the Nation's total lake acres and
8.2% of the Nation's total river miles. In addition, 100% of the Great Lakes waters and their connecting waters and a large portion
of the Nation's coastal waters are also under advisory. The total number of advisories in the U.S. increased for three major contami-
nants (mercury, dioxin, and DDT) but declined for PCBs. However, 30 new advisories for PCBs were issued nationwide.
Beginning in 1996, the U.S. EPA contacted health officials in Canada in an effort to identify fish consumption advisories in effect.
The number of Canadian advisories rose by 26 in 1997 to a total of 2,625, less than a 1 % increase over 1996. All of the current
Canadian fish advisories have resulted from contamination from one or more of the following five pollutants: mercury, PCBs, dioxins/
furans, toxaphene, and mirex. Of the 2,572 advisories, 94% resulted from mercury contamination in fish tissues. In addition, 86%
were issued by the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Two provincewide advisories for mercury are in effect for New Brunswick and
Nova Scotia.
Background
The states and the four U.S. territories and Native American
tribes (hereafter referred to as states) have primary respon-
sibility for protecting their residents from the health risks of
consuming contaminated noncommercjally caught fish
and wildlife. They do this by issuing consumption adviso-
ries for the general population, including recreational and
subsistence fishers, as well as for sensitive subpopulations
(such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children).
These advisories inform the public that high concentrations
of chemical contaminants (e.g., mercury and dioxins) have
been found in local fish and wildlife.
The advisories include recommendations to limit or avoid
consumption of certain fish and wildlife species from
specific waterbodies or, in some cases, from specific
waterbody types (e.g., all lakes). Similarly, in Canada, the
provinces and territories have primary responsibility for
issuing fish consumption advisories for th,eir residents.
States typically issue five major types of advisories and
bans to protect both the general population and specific
subpopulations (usually pregnant women, nursing
mothers, and young children). When levels of chemical
contamination pose a health risk to the general public,
states may issue a no consumption advisory for the general
population (NCGP). When contaminant levels pose a
health risk to sensitive subpopulations, states may issue a
no consumption advisory for the sensitive subpopulation
(NCSP). In waterbodies where chemical contamination is
less severe, states may issue an advisory recommending
that either the general population (RGP) or a sensitive
subpopulation (RSP) restrict their consumption of specific
species for which the advisory is issued. The fifth type of
state-issued advisory is the commercial fishing ban (CFB),
which prohibits the commercial harvest and sale of fish,
shellfish, and/or wildlife species from a designated
waterbody and, by inference, the consumption of all
species identified in the fishing ban from that waterbody.
As shown in Table 1, all types of advisories increased in
number from 1993 to 1997.
Table 1. U.S. Advisories Issued from, 1993 to 1997 bylType
No Consumption - General Population
No Consumption - Sensitive Subpopulation
Restricted Consumption - General Population
Restricted Consumption - Sensitive Subpopulation
Commercial Fishing Ban ; -
1993
503
555
993
689
30
1994
462
720
1,182
900
30
1995
463
778
1,372
1,042
55
1996
563
1,022
1,763
1,370
50
1997
545
1,119
1,843
1,450
52
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Advisories in Effect
The database includes information on
• Species and size range of fish and/or wildlife
• Chemical contaminants identified in the advisory
• Geographic location of each advisory (including
landmarks, river miles, or latitude and longitude
coordinates of the affected waterbody)
• Lake acreage or river miles under advisory
• Date the advisory was issued
• Percentage of waters assessed by states for fish
advisories.
The 1994,1995,1996, and the new 1997 version of the
LFWA database can generate national, regional, and state
maps that illustrate any combination of these advisory
parameters. In addition, the 1996 and 1997 versions of the
database can provide information on the percentage of
waterbodies in each state that is currently under an
advisory and the percentage of waters assessed. A new
feature of the 1997 database provides users access to fish
tissue residue data for those waterbodies under advisory in
eight states: Delaware, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota,
New Hampshire, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wiscon-
sin. The name of each state contact, a phone number, and
a FAX number are also provided so that users can obtain
additional information concerning specific advisories.
Comparable advisory information (excluding tissue residue
data) and contact information for 1997 are provided for
each Canadian province or territory.
Advisory Trends
The number of waterbodies in the U.S. under advisory
reported in 1997 (2,299) represents a 5% increase from
the number reported in 1996 (2,196 advisories) and a 80%
increase from the number of advisories issued since 1993
(1,278 advisories). The increase in advisories issued by the
states generally reflects an increase in the number of
assessments of the levels of chemical contaminants in fish
and wildlife tissues. These additional assessments were
Figure 1
Total Number of Fish Advisories in Effect in Each State in 1997
(number of new advisories)
GU 0 (0)
Note: The numbers depicted here do not necessarily reflect the geographic extent
of chemical contamination in each state nor the extent of a state's monitoring
efforts. The methods used to establish fish advisories vary among the states.
Eighteen states have issued statewide advisories for particular pollutants and
types of waterbodies. For these states, a • denotes a statewide advisory for
lakes, a A denotes a statewide advisory for rivers, and a 4- denotes a statewide
advisory for coastal waters.
Maine and New York have statewide wildlife advisories for moose liver and kidney
and waterfowl, respectively.
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conducted as a result of the increased awareness of health
risks associated with the consumption of chemically
contaminated fish and wildlife. Some of the increase in
advisory numbers, however, may be due to the increasing
use of more rigorous EPA risk assessment procedures in
setting advisories rather than use of Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) action levels. Figure 1 shows the
number of advisories currently in effect for each state and
the number of new advisories issued since 1996.
Bioaccumulative Pollutants
Although advisories in the U.S. have been issued for a total
of 46 chemical contaminants, most advisories issued have
involved five primary contaminants. These chemical
contaminants are biologically accumulated in the tissues
of aquatic organisms at concentrations many times higher
than concentrations in the water. In addition, these
chemical contaminants persist in sediments for relatively
long periods where they can be accumulated by bottom-
dwelling animals and passed up the food chain to fish.
Concentrations of these contaminants in the tissues of
aquatic organisms may be increased at each successive
level of the food chain. As a result, top predators in a food
chain, such as trout, salmon, or walleye, may have concen-
trations of these chemicals in their fatty tissues that can be
a million times higher than the concentrations in water.
Mercury, PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT (and its
degradation products, DDE and DDD) were responsible for
95% of all fish consumption advisories in effect in 1997. A
similar pattern was also seen in the 1993,1994,1995, and
1996 databases (see Figure 2).
Mercury
Advisories for mercury increased 6% from 1996 to 1997
(1,677 to 1,782) and increased 98% from 1993 to 1997
(899 to 1,782). The number of states that have issued
mercury advisories also has risen steadily from 27 to 34 to
35 to 38 to 40 in 1993, 1994, 1995,1996, and 1997,
respectively. The rise in the number of mercury advisories in
Figure 2
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Dioxins
DDT
Others
Trends in Number of Advisories
Issued for Various Pollutants
0 200 400 600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Number of Advisories
1997 can be attributed primarily to issuance of new
mercury advisories in 11 states. The majority (85%) of
these new advisories, however, were issued in three states:
Minnesota (61), Ohio (14), and Louisiana (9).
It should also be noted that 11 states (Connecticut,
Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Ver-
mont) have issued statewide advisories for mercury in
freshwater lakes and/or rivers. Another five states (Alabama,
Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Texas) have state-
wide advisories for mercury in their coastal waters. To date,
89% of the 1,782 mercury advisories in effect have been
issued by the following 11 states: Minnesota (761),
Wisconsin (390), Indiana (109), Florida (96), Massachusetts
(55), Michigan (41), North Dakota (36), New Jersey (30),
New Mexico (26), South Carolina (24), and Georgia (23).
PCBs
Advisories for PCBs decreased 5% from 1996 to 1997 (617
to 588) although 30 new advisories were issued, but
increased overall by 84% from 1993 to 1997 (319 to 588).
The decline in PCB advisories in 1997 was primarily due to
the rescinding of some advisories and readjustments in
advisories issued during previous years. The number of
states that have issued PCB advisories increased only
slightly from 31 to 35 from 1993 to 1994, declined to 34
states in 1995 and 1996, and then increased to 35 states in
1997. The majority (80%) of the 30 new PCB advisories
were issued by seven states: Ohio (10), Maine (4), Alabama
(2), Connecticut (2), Minnesota (2), Nebraska (2), and
New York (2). To date, 81% of the 588 PCB advisories have
been issued by 11 states: Indiana (120), Minnesota (78),
Wisconsin (53), New York (48), Michigan (54), Ohio (33),
Georgia (21), Nebraska (20), Pennsylvania (18), Massachu-
setts (17), and New Jersey (12). Four states (Indiana,
Missouri, New York, and District of Columbia) have issued
statewide advisories for PCBs. Four other states (New Jersey,
Connecticut, New York, and Rhode Island) have issued PCB
advisories for all of their coastal marine waters.
Other Pollutants
The total number of advisories for DDT (and its degrada-
tion products, DDE and DDD) increased by one advisory
from 32 in 1996 to 33 in 1997. The total number of
advisories for dioxins was 54 in 1993, then rose to 63 in
1994, held steady at 63 in 1995, declined to 60 advisories
in 1996, and increased to 65 in 1997. One dioxin advisory
on the Brazos River in Texas was also rescinded in 1997.
Dioxins are one of several chemical contaminants for which
advisories have been rescinded by some states, in part
because many pulp and paper mills have changed their
processes.
Wildlife Advisories
In addition to advisories for fish and shellfish, the database
also contains several wildlife advisories. Four states have
issued consumption advisories for turtles: Arizona (3),
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Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (7), and New York (statewide
advisory). One state (Massachusetts) has an advisory for
frogs, New York has a statewide advisory for waterfowl
(mergansers), and Arkansas has an advisory for woodducks.
Maine issued a statewide advisory for moose liver and
kidneys due to cadmium levels.
1 Table 2. Summary of Statewide Advisories by Waterbody Type
State
Alabama
Connecticut
Dist. of Columbia
Florida
Indiana
Louisiana
Maine*
Massachusetts
Michigan
Missouri
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York*
North Carolina
Ohio
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Lake
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mirex
DDT
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
River
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mirex
DDT
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Coastal Waters
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Dioxins
Mercury
PCBs
Cadmium
Dioxins
PCBs
Cadmium
Dioxins
PCBs
Mercury
*These states also have statewide wildlife advisories for cadmium
in moose liver and kidney tissue (Maine) and for PCBs, DDT,
mirex, and Chlordane in mergansers and other waterfowl
(New York).
1997 Advisory Listing
The 1997 database lists 2,299 advisories in 47 states,
the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territory of American
Samoa. Some of these advisories represent statewide
advisories for certain types of waterbodies (e.g., lakes,
rivers, and/or coastal waters). An advisory may represent
one waterbody or one type of waterbody within a state's
jurisdiction. Statewide advisories are counted as one
advisory. The database counts one advisory for each
waterbody name or type of waterbody regardless of the
number of fish or wildlife species that are affected or the
number of chemical contaminants detected at concentra-
tions of human health concern. Eighteen states (Alabama,
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana,
Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio,
Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont) currently have state-
wide advisories in effect (see Table 2). A statewide advisory
is issued to warn the public of the potential for widespread
contamination of certain species of fish in certain types of
waterbodies (e.g., lakes, rivers and streams, or coastal
waters) or certain species of wildlife (e.g., moose or
waterfowl). In such a case, the state may have found a level
of contamination of a specific pollutant in a particular fish
or wildlife species over a relatively wide geographic area
that warrants advising the public of the situation.
The statewide advisories and 2,299 specifically named
waterbodies represent approximately 16.5% of the
Nation's total lake acreage and 8.2% of the Nation's total
river miles. In addition, 100% of the Great Lakes waters
and their connecting waters are also under advisory. The
Great Lakes waters are considered separately from other
lakes, and their connecting waters are considered sepa-
rately from other river miles. The percentages of lake acres
and river miles in each state that are currently under a fish
advisory are shown in Figures 3 and 4, respectively.
A large portion of our nation's estuarine and coastal waters
are also under advisory. With respect to estuarine waters,
fish and shellfish advisories have been issued for a large
number of estuaries, bays, and harbors. Some of these
major estuaries, bays, and harbors include Great Bay
Estuary in New Hampshire; Boston Harbor in Massachu-
setts; the Connecticut and New York waters of Long Island
Sound; the Lower Hudson River Estuary including the
Harlem and East Rivers and New York Harbor area; Raritan,
Newark, and Sandy Hook Bays in New Jersey; the New
Jersey and Delaware portions of the Delaware Bay Estuary;
Figure 3
Percentage of Lake Acres
Currently Under Advisory
OGU o.o
Twelve states have 100% of their lake acres under fish
advisories (these include some states with statewide adviso-
ries), another 8 states have 10% to 50% of their lake acres
under advisories, 21 states have <10% of their lake acres
under advisories, and 14 states have no lake acres under
advisories.
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Baltimore Harbor in Maryland; portions of Albemarle
Sound in North Carolina on the Atlantic Coast; the Hous-
ton Ship Channel on the Texas Gulf Coast; and Los Ange-
les/Long Beach Harbor, Richmond Harbor, and the San
Francisco Bay Delta in California and Puget Sound and
Eagle Harbor in Washington on the Pacific Coast. In
addition to these estuarine areas, several states have issued
fish advisories for all of their coastal waters. Using coastal
mileages calculated by the National Oceanic and Atmos-
pheric Administration, an estimated 58% of the coastline of
the contiguous 48 states currently is under advisory. This
includes 61 % of the Atlantic Coast and 97% of the Gulf
Coast. No Pacific Coast state has issued a statewide
advisory for any of its coastal waters although several local
areas along the Pacific Coast are under advisory. The
Atlantic coastal advisories have been issued for a wide
variety of chemical contaminants including mercury, PCBs,
dioxins, and cadmium, while all of the Gulf Coast advisories
have been issued for mercury.
Figure 4
Percentage of River Miles
Currently Under Advisory
Eleven states have 100% of their river miles under fish
advisories (these include some states with statewide adviso-
ries), 29 states have <10% of their river miles under advisories,
and 15 states have no river miles under advisories.
Summary of Canadian Advisories
Beginning in 1996, the U.S. EPA contacted health and
environmental officials in the 12 Canadian provinces and
territories to obtain narrative and geographic information
systems (CIS) information on advisories throughout
Canada. The number of Canadian advisories in effect in
1997 was 2,625. This represents less than a 1 % increase in
the number offish advisories issued in 1996; however, this
small increase in 1997 is partly due to the fact that some of
the Canadian provinces report new advisories only every
2 years. Currently two provincewide advisories for mercury
are also in effect for Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.
Figure 5 shows the number of waterbodies under advisory
for each of .the Canadian provinces. Ontario and Quebec
Total Number of Fish Advisories in Effect in Canada
in 1997 (number of new advisories)
0(0)
*Provincewide advisories are in effect for Nova Scotia
(all rivers and lakes) and New Brunswick (all lakes).
reported the highest number of advisories, 1,537 and 712,
respectively. Based on all the advisories reported, 86% were
issued for waterbodies in these two provinces. With respect
to chemical contaminants, advisories in Canada have been
issued for a total of five bioaccumulative chemical contami-
nants including mercury (2,572), PCBs (59), dioxins/furans
(68), toxaphene (16), and mirex (9). More than 97% of all
Canadian advisories have been issued for mercury.
Database Use and Access
The LFWA database was developed by EPA to help federal,
state, local government agencies, and Native American
tribes assess the potential for human health risks associated
with consumption of chemical contaminants in
noncommercially caught fish and wildlife. The data
contained in this database may also be used by the general
public to make informed decisions about the waterbodies
in which they choose to fish or harvest wildlife; the
frequency with which they fish these waterbodies; the
species, size, and number of fish they collect; and the
frequency with which they consume fish from specific
waterbodies.
The 1997 version of the Listing of Fish and Wildlife Adviso-
ries is PC-based and is available to the public free of charge
on both CD-ROM (EPA document number EPA-823-C-98-
001) and 3.5-inch diskettes (EPA document number EPA-
823-C-98-002). For copies of the diskettes or CD-ROM,
contact:
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U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
National Center for Environmental
Publications and Information
11029 Kenwood Road
Cincinnati, Ohio 45242
(513-489-8190).
EPA will make this 1997 update of the LFWA database
available for downloading from the Internet through the
following URL:
http://www.epa.gov/OST
Further information on specific advisories within a particu-
lar state is available from the appropriate state agency
contact listed in the database. This is particularly important
for advisories recommending that consumers restrict their
consumption of fish from certain waterbodies. State health
departments provide more specific information for
restricted consumption advisories (RGP and RSP) on the
appropriate meal size and meal frequency (number of
meals per week or month) that is considered safe to
consume for a specific consumer group (e.g., the general
public versus pregnant women, nursing mothers, and
young children). For further information on Canadian
advisories, contact the appropriate provincial contact given
in the database.
For more information concerning the National Fish
Contamination Program, contact:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Science and Technology
401 M Street SW, Maildrop 4305
Washington, DC 20460
U.S. EPA contact: Jeffrey Bigler
Phone (202-260-1305) FAX (202-260-9830)
e-mail: Bigler.Jeff@epamail.epa.gov
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