State-Level Recreational Fishing Regulations and Fish Consumption Advisories in the United States: Identifying Opportunities for Improved Interagency Collaboration

Comparison of Recreational Fish Consumption Advisories Across the USA

Purpose of Review

Our comparative analysis sought to understand the factors which drive differences in fish consumption advisories across the USA — including exposure scenarios (acute and chronic health risk, non-cancer and cancer health endpoints), toxicity values (reference dose, cancer slope factor, acute tolerance level), and meal size and bodyweight assumptions.

Recent Findings

Fish consumption provides essential nutrients but also results in exposure to contaminants such as PCBs and methylmercury. To protect consumers from the risks of fish contaminants, fish consumption advisories are established, most often by state jurisdictions, to estimate the amount of a certain fish species a person could consume throughout their lifetime without harm. However, inconsistencies in advisories across the USA confuse consumers and undermine the public health goals of fish advisory programs. To date, no rigorous comparison of state and national fish consumption advisories has been reported.

Summary

Our work identifies discrepancies in key assumptions used to derive risk-based advisories between US states, reflecting differences in the interpretation of toxicity science. We also address the implications for these differences by reviewing advisories issued by contiguous states bordering two waterbodies: Lake Michigan and the Lower Mississippi River. Our findings highlight the importance of regional collaboration when issuing advisories, so that consumers of self-caught fish are equipped with clear knowledge to make decisions to protect their health.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s40572-021-00312-w.

Understanding the relationships between water quality, recreational fishing practices, and human health in Phoenix, Arizona

Across the United States, recreational freshwater fisheries are not only an important leisure activity, but can also provide a relatively inexpensive source of protein in local diets. However, recreational freshwater fisheries are generally not well-monitored in terms of fish consumption vs. catch and release, nor are all recreational surface waters regularly monitored for the presence of potentially harmful contaminants in water or fishes. In six urban lakes that support recreational fisheries in Phoenix, Arizona, a majority of surveyed anglers reported eating recreationally caught fishes, even though they thought the water might be polluted. Surface water samples collected from the six urban recreational fishery lakes showed varying levels of organic contaminants, including pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and phthalates. As many Phoenix urban recreational fisheries lakes and ponds are located in low income and high minority neighborhoods, the results of this pilot study could be used to inform urban fisheries management and other agencies of the potential need for fish consumption advisories, inform actions to improve water quality in urban lakes and ponds that support urban fisheries, and support further research and monitoring, in order to reduce potential risks to public health.