CHARLESTON,
W.Va. – West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources today
announced an updated West Virginia Sport Fish Consumption Advisory for 2014.
The DHHR partners with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection
and the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources to develop consumption
advisories for fish caught in West Virginia.
Fish consumption
advisories are updated each year to help West Virginia anglers and their
families make educated choices about eating the fish they catch.
Changes to the current
advisory are as follows:
• Greenbrier River –
Specific advisory limiting consumption for Smallmouth Bass less than twelve
(12) inches in length for one (1) meal a month has been removed due to newer
information indicating lower levels of mercury. The 2014 statewide consumption
advisory for Smallmouth Bass should be followed on the West Virginia Fish Consumption Advisories website.
• Shenandoah River –
Specific advisory limiting consumption for Smallmouth Bass, greater than twelve
(12) inches in length for one (1) meal a month has been adjusted to include all
sizes due to newer information indicating higher levels of mercury in
Smallmouth Bass smaller than twelve (12) inches in length.
• Summersville Lake –
Specific advisory limiting consumption of Walleye greater than seventeen (17)
inches in length for six (6) meals per year has been removed due to newer
information indicating lower levels of mercury. Consumption advice for Walleye
of all sizes should be limited to one (1) meal a month.
• Ohio River – Ohio River
Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) advisory for Striped Bass Hybrid
for one (1) meal a month has been revised to six (6) meals per year due to
newer information indicating increased Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB) levels
from the Pennsylvania border to Belleville Lock (Brooke, Hancock, Marshall,
Ohio, Pleasants, Tyler, Wetzel, and Wood counties). Ohio River advisories are
now based on data from ORSANCO and utilize an advisory protocol developed by
the Ohio River Fish Consumption Advisory Workgroup. The protocol ensures
uniform advisories among Ohio River states for all river sections. Please click here for more detail on Ohio River Advisory Updates.
Low levels of chemicals
like PCBs, mercury, selenium and dioxin have been found in some fish from
certain waters. An advisory is advice and should not be viewed as law or
regulation. It is intended
to help anglers and their families decide: where to fish, what types of fish to
eat, how to limit the amount and frequency of fish eaten and how to prepare and
cook fish to reduce contaminants. Women of childbearing age, children and people
who regularly eat fish are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build
up over time. Individuals falling into
one of these categories should be especially careful to follow the guidelines.
Toby D. Wagoner, Public Information Officer Bureau for Public Health * Telephone: (304) 356-4042