Fish Advisories in Alabama
Dr. Neil Sass
Alabama Department of Public Health

A Healthy, Informed Choice
Contaminants in Fish

There is variability in the health value of eating some fish. Part of this is due to the chemical composition of the fish itself, the protein, fat, vitamin, and/or mineral content of the fish. There is another aspect of fish composition that should be examined to determine its value as a healthy or unhealthy source of nutrition. This other aspect is the level of contaminants that may be present in the fish.

If fish live in a clean body of water, their health should be good and they are good to eat. If fish live in a body of water that has higher than normal contaminants, their health might not be good and they should not be eaten. The longer fish live in contaminated water, the more likely it is that they are contaminated. Since fish cannot get rid of all the poisons or toxins from their bodies, their bodies end up storing them. The highest concentrations of toxins, like some pesticides, mercury and polychorinated biphenyls (PCBs), are found in the fat and liver of fish.

Contaminants in the environment can be natural or man-made. Some of the materials we call contaminants are actually beneficial chemicals that have been distributed in the environment intentionally, like pesticides that have been applied on crops. Others are by-products of processes which have escaped into the environment, e.g., dioxins and furans from the production of bleach kraft paper. A substance like mercury, although a natural product, escapes into the environment in large amounts through the burning of coal in commercial power plants and factories. Other materials, like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) enter the environment as waste materials put into discard piles at factories. The PCBs then are subject to the effects of wind and rain in becoming disbursed throughout the environment. These contaminants can find their way into waters in the State. Contaminants can be taken up by plants or fish or other organisms (e.g., crayfish) in the water. Fish develop measurable levels of contaminants depending on the content of contaminant in the materials on which the fish feed. Some of these can accumulate in the fish over time.

As a rule, eating fish is a healthy choice. Fish should be included in every balanced diet. However, while most Americans need to include more fish in their diet, care must be taken in choosing and preparing fish. Some fish may actually cause harm. Alabama Department of Public Health, in conjunction with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, surveys fish in varying waterbodies across the state to determine whether or not conditions in the waters of the state are changing. Increases of specific contaminants in specific waterbodies will result in the issuance of consumption advisories to inform the public of dangers involved in consuming certain species of fish from specific waterbodies. To make sure you and your family get all the health benefits from fish, you should know:

• Which type(s) of fish you're eating
• Where these fish were caught
• How the fish is prepared and cooked
• How much fish is safe to eat

Through awareness of these elements, individuals can increase the health content of their diet without significantly increasing their exposure to potentially hazardous contaminants in fish.

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