THE RIGHT TO KNOW

EATING FISH FROM WESTERN NEW YORK

Fishing is fun and an important source of food for many people in Western New York. However, eating the fish you catch from some of our local waterways like Lake Erie, the Niagara River, and the Buffalo River may be bad for your health. You have the right to know!

Did you know that some fish caught in Western New York waters are polluted with harmful chemicals?

Did you know that eating these polluted fish may make you and your family sick?

Making choices about eating locally caught fish is very hard because fishing is fun and eating fish can be very nutritious and healthy. By following this guide, you will find out how to make better choices about eating fish for you and your family.

Site Contents Scroll down to learn more

How much fish to eat based on type of fish and fishing location in Western New York

Why are there chemicals in locally caught fish?

What chemicals are found in locally caught fish?

How do these chemicals get in our bodies?

Who is most at risk from eating chemically polluted fish?

How can chemicals from eating polluted fish make us sick?

How do I avoid harmful chemicals in the fish I eat?

Is fish goof for us?

Other things to think about when eating locally caught fish

Information on harmful chemicals in store bought and restaurant fish

Other places to find fresh clean fish

Links to sites with further information

Who to contact for more information

For information on how much fish to eat based on type of fish and fishing location in Western New York click here.

Why are there chemicals in locally caught fish?

In the past, industries in Western New York polluted our streams, rivers, and lakes with harmful chemicals. These chemicals have not gone away and still pollute our waters and fish.

Water polluted with chemicals may look clear and clean, and may still be polluted even if it is fast-moving and deep.
The chemicals are very small and cannot be seen in the water or in the fish.
When fish live and eat in these polluted waters, their bodies are polluted with the same chemicals.
A fish with chemicals in its body may look and taste the same as a fish with no chemicals in its body.

What chemicals are found in locally caught fish?

Below is a list of the chemicals found in our local waters and fish that can make you and your family sick.

PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) are man-made chemicals that come from commercial and electrical products, such as electrical and hydraulic fluid and lubricants.

Dioxin is found in the waste products of manufacturing, especially pulp and paper mills. It is also released into the environment through automobile emissions, waste incinerators, wood fires and trash burning.

Mirex is found in insecticides and flame-retardants.

Mercury is a metal. It gets into the water from dumping pollutants containing mercury into waterways and from air pollution containing mercury that falls into waterways through rain. Mercury is most common in store bought fish.

Lead can be found in fishing tackle (sinkers and jig heads).

How do these chemicals get in our bodies?

Fish are fun to catch and good to eat, but when we eat fish caught from water polluted with chemicals, the chemicals move from the water, to the fish, to our bodies.

The chemicals can build up in our bodies when we eat fish. Over time, chemicals from polluted fish can cause changes to our health. Women, children, and babies are at greater risk from these chemicals.

The red dots represent bad chemicals such as PCB’s, dioxin, mirex, and mercury. Remember, you cannot see these chemicals.

Who is most at risk from eating chemically polluted fish?

Women under 50 years old and children under 15 years old should not eat fish from waters polluted with chemicals. These chemicals can harm how their bodies develop and grow.

Pregnant Women

Your baby’s health may be at risk if you eat polluted fish when you are pregnant. The chemicals in a mother’s body can be passed to the unborn child during pregnancy.

Women Who Are Breast Feeding

The chemicals that have built up in a mother’s body from eating fish can be passed to her baby through breast milk. Eating polluted fish while breast feeding can harm your baby.

Babies and Children

Babies and children under the age of 15 years old are most harmed by eating polluted fish.

Women Who May Become Pregnant
Women who are over 15 years old and under 50 years old are at greater risk from eating polluted fish. If you plan on becoming pregnant in the next two years, eating polluted fish now may harm your child in the future.

People who eat a lot of fish
The more fish we eat, the more chemicals build up in our bodies. When more chemicals are in our bodies, we are more likely to become sick.

How can chemicals from eating polluted fish make us sick?

These chemicals may not make us feel sick right away, like a cold or stomach ache. These chemicals change the way our body works over time

Health Effects: Babies and Children Under 15 Years

Chemicals from polluted fish can change the growth and development of babies and children.
When pregnant women eat polluted fish, their babies can be born too early, have low birth weights, smaller heads and other birth defects.
Eating polluted fish can hurt babies and children by changing the way their brains work. Chemicals may cause children to have trouble learning new things and paying attention.
Chemicals can hurt a baby’s or child’s kidneys and liver and lower their ability to fight infections and disease.

Health Effects: Adults

Chemicals from polluted fish can also harm adults.

Chemicals can also harm both men’s and women’s abilities to have babies. In men, chemicals can reduce the quality of sperm. In women, chemicals can change monthly menstrual cycles.
In adults, chemicals can hurt the brain. They can change the way a person behaves and make it harder to remember and learn new things. These problems have a greater effect on older adults.
People who get sick more often or who have lowered Immune systems are more affected by chemicals in polluted fish.
Chemicals from eating polluted fish can harm a person’s skin, liver, kidneys, and thyroid gland, which regulates hormone levels. Some of these chemicals may even cause cancer.

How do I avoid harmful chemicals in the fish I eat?

Choose the best type of fish from waterways that are less polluted
Clean the fish by cutting off fat
Cook fish in a way that allows the fat to drip off
Space and Size your meals so that you don’t eat too many chemicals at once

How Do I Choose My Fish?
The amount of chemicals in a fish depends on:

the age of the fish
where the fish lives
what the fish eats

Smaller, younger fish have less chemicals than older, larger fish.

Fish that eat and live on the bottom, like catfish, have more chemicals in them.

Fish that eat other fish, like walleye, have more chemicals in them.
The amount of chemicals in a fish also depends on the type of fish and where the fish is caught. For more information, please see The Western New York Fish Consumption Advisory.

How Do I Clean My Fish?
Many of the chemicals in polluted fish are found in the fat of the fish.

Fat is found all over a fish’s body. Fat is also in the skin, guts, and head of a fish.
By removing fat from a fish before you cook and eat it, you can remove some harmful chemicals from your meal.
Metals, like mercury, are found in the meat of a fish. The only way to avoid these harmful metals is to eat less fish.

For instructions and pictures describing how to clean a fish CLICK HERE.

How Do I Cook My Fish?
Many of the chemicals in polluted fish are found in the fat of the fish.

Cooking fish in a way that the fat drips off will remove some of the chemicals.
Do not use the juice and the drippings because they contain chemicals.
Remember, cook a fillet with the skin off!
Certain ways of cooking allow more fat to drip off than others.
- Goodways to cook fish that remove harmful chemicals:
  - Grill
  - Broil
  - Bake
  - Smoke
  - Poach
- Bad ways to cook fish that keep chemicals in your meal:
  - Boil
  - Stew
  - Fry
  - How Often Should I Eat Fish?

It is important to space out meals so you and your family don’t eat too many chemicals at once.
How much fish you should eat depends on:

The type of fish
Where the fish came from
If you are a man or a woman
If you are an adult, child, or pregnant

To find out how often you should eat fish, read the The Western New York Fish Consumption Advisory.

How much fish should I eat?
The recommended serving of fish for an adult is 8 ounces, uncooked.
8 ounces of uncooked fish is about the size and thickness of the palm of your hand or a pack of cigarettes .
Children under 15 years should eat smaller servings.

Is fish good for us?

Even though some fish may have bad chemicals in them, there are many health benefits to eating fish. Fish are full of healthy protein, vitamins and minerals. Fish are low in saturated fat and contain omega-3 fatty acids. Fish are part of a healthy, balanced diet.

Heart Health
Eating fish is important for a healthy heart. People who eat fish are less likely to have heart disease. If you have heart disease, eating fish may help you lower the risk of serious heart problems.

Brain Development and Health
Eating fish is important for a healthy brain because it helps the brain develop and work normally. The nutrients found in fish are important for the growth of a baby’s brain during pregnancy. Older people who eat fish are less likely to suffer from dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

Immune System Health
Your immune system helps your body fight diseases and infections. Some doctors believe that eating oily fish can keep your immune system healthy.

Diabetes
Eating fish regularly can keep insulin levels healthy. Healthy insulin levels may lower the chance of developing diabetes and helps people with diabetes stay healthy.

Other things to think about when eating locally caught fish

Besides containing invisible harmful chemicals, fish can also be contaminated with bacteria, viruses and parasites that cause illness. By following good sanitary practices, avoiding raw or partially cooked meat and deformed or abnormal fish you can help reduce the risk of getting you or your family sick.

Botulism is caused by a poison produced by bacteria that can be found in fish and can cause illness and death if eaten by humans and animals. Click HERE to find out more information on Botulism.
Avoid directly handling fish if you have cuts or open sores on your hands. If you do have cuts or sores, wear gloves to protect yourself. Always wear rubber or plastic gloves when filleting or skinning your fish
Take fish that act and look healthy. Any fish that looks sick (marked by tumors, lesions, or other abnormal condition of the fish skin, meat or internal organs) should be discarded.
Remove the intestines as soon as possible after catching your fish. Don’t eat the intestines. Avoid contact with the intestines.
Hands, utensils, and work surfaces should be washed before and after handling any raw meat and fish.
Fish should be kept cool after being caught. Filleted fish should be refrigerated or frozen.
Do not eat raw or partially cooked fish or shellfish. When fish meat is not fully cooked it looks glossy or shiny and you can see through it. You cannot see through cooked fish meat. Cooking meat helps kill the bacteria, viruses, and parasites found in fish and shellfish. People at high risk (individuals who get sick frequently or have weak immune systems) are more likely to get very sick.

Information on harmful chemicals in store bought and restaurant fish

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) regulates the sale of fish sold in stores, markets and at restaurants. Fish sold in stores, markets and at restaurants can also have harmful chemicals in them. Mercury is the most common harmful chemical found in these fish. US FDA advises pregnant women, women who may become pregnant, nursing mothers and young children to not eat shark, swordfish, king mackerel or tilefish.

Common fish sold in stores, markets and at restaurants that have less mercury and are safer to eat:

Shrimp
Canned light tuna*
Salmon
Pollock
Catfish

*Albacore (white) tuna has more mercury than canned light tuna. Eat less albacore (white) tuna.

People who eat local fish tend to eat fish from the same locations and water. People who eat fish from stores and restaurants are likely to eat fish from a number of different sources and locations. People who eat fish from the same source are more likely to have higher levels of harmful chemicals in their bodies than people who eat fish from many different sources.

Other places to find fresh clean fish

More information on this topic coming soon

Links to sites with further information

Links coming soon.

Who to contact for more information

Katy Brown

Public Health and Environmental Justice Project Manager

kbrown@bnriverkeeper.org

Buffalo Niagara RIVERKEEPER
1250 Niagara Street, Buffalo, NY 14213
(716) 852-7483
info@bnriverkeeper.org

Be Sociable, Share!

Can I Eat the Fish?