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KY Health, Environmental Officials Revise Fish Consumption Advisory

Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources, Facebook

A revised statewide fish consumption advisory is in effect due to levels of mercury found in samples from Kentucky waters. The Kentucky Departments for Public Health, Environmental Protection and Fish and Wildlife announced guidance Wednesday. 

Kathy Fowler, director of the DPH Division of Public Health Safety says, "Contaminants, like mercury, can be harmful to the brain and nervous system if a person is exposed to too much of them." She says 'sensitive populations' like infants, young children and pregnant women are at a greater risk.

Advisories do not ban eating fish, but rather act as a guide for making informed decisions about how much fish to eat. This does not affect people swimming or boating in Kentucky waters.

The 'general public' is advised to eat no more than one meal per month of predatory fish and one meal per week of bottom feeder fish and panfish. Sensitive populations are advised to eat no more than six meals per year of predatory fish and one meal per month of bottom feeder fish and panfish.

Fish include various types of bass (smallmouth, spotted, large, white, striped, yellow, rock), various catfish (flathead, blue, channel), carp, walleye, crappie and chub among others.

See the complete list of fish here

Guidance for 'no consumption' remains in effect for Little Bayou Creek and Metropolis Lake in McCracken County due to PCB levels and Western KY Wildlife Management Area in McCracken County due to mercury levels. Also, Fish Lake in Ballard County recommends limiting consumption to one meal per month for general population and six meals per year for sensitive population due to mercury levels.

A 2009 United States Environmental Protection Agency study found Kentucky's average mercury concentration in fish is similar to national levels. Mercury occurs naturally and can be released through human activity. Collecting in bodies of water, mercury converts to methylmercury, which gets absorbed by bacteria and plankton, gradually working its way up the food chain.

Matt Markgraf joined the WKMS team as a student in January 2007. He's served in a variety of roles over the years: as News Director March 2016-September 2019 and previously as the New Media & Promotions Coordinator beginning in 2011. Prior to that, he was a graduate and undergraduate assistant. He is currently the host of the international music show Imported on Sunday nights at 10 p.m.
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