Background Information

Table of Contents

Why We Have Advisories

Fishing is fun, and fish are an important part of a healthy diet. Fish contain high quality protein, essential nutrients, healthy fish oils, and are low in saturated fat. However, some fish contain chemicals at levels that may be harmful to health. To help people make healthier choices about which fish to eat, the New York State Department of Health (the Department) issues advice about eating sportfish (the fish you catch).

Some fresh waters and marine waters (near New York City) are impacted by human activities and local or distant contamination sources. The fish from these waters are more likely to be contaminated than fish from other waters. People who eat the fish they catch, or get locally caught fish from others, often eat fish from a limited number of favorite fishing waters or locations. When those favorite waters/locations contain fish with higher contaminant levels, the people who eat them may have higher contaminant exposures. In general, fish from the market or a restaurant come from a wider variety of locations, including waters with less contaminated fish.

NYS DOH also issues advice about game, such as snapping turtles and wild waterfowl. Game may also contain chemicals at levels of concern.

Health Risks from Contaminants in Fish and Game

The primary contaminants of concern in New York State fish and game have been mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Other contaminants such as cadmium, chlordane, DDT, dieldrin, dioxin, mirex, and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are also concerns in fish from some of the State's waterbodies. These contaminants build up in your body as you continue to eat these fish and game over time. Health problems that may result from exposure to these contaminants range from small changes in health that are hard to detect to birth defects, reproductive and developmental effects, and cancer. For more detailed information about contaminants in fish and game please visit About Chemicals & Bacteria in Fish.

People who eat highly contaminated fish and game and become pregnant may have an increased risk of having children who are slower to develop and learn. Some contaminants may be passed on to infants in breastmilk. Exposure to contaminants may also have a greater effect on young children than adults.

People can get the health benefits of eating fish and reduce their exposures to contaminants by following the Department's advice. The advisories tell people which fish to avoid eating, and how to prepare and cook fish to reduce their exposures to contaminants in the fish they do eat. People who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15 (the sensitive population) are advised to limit the kinds of sportfish they eat and how often they eat them. Everyone else (the general population) may face fewer health risks from chemicals found in fish. For that reason, the advice for the general population allows them to eat more kinds of sportfish and more often.

Basis for Setting Advisories

New York is a water-rich state: 2.6 million acres of water in Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain; approximately 0.75 million acres in more than 4,000 smaller lakes; 70,000 miles of streams and rivers in 15 major watersheds; 150 tidal miles of the Hudson River estuary; and 1.1 million acres of marine waters extending three miles from shore. Many species of fish in these waters are sought by anglers.

In New York State, fish and game advisories are primarily based on information that the NYS Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC) gathers on contaminant levels in fish and game. NYS DEC collects fish samples each year from different waterbodies. It varies from year to year, but NYS DEC annually collects and analyzes contaminants in about 1,500 fish from more than 50 locations/waters. Sampling focuses on waterbodies with known or suspected contamination, waterbodies susceptible to mercury contamination, popular fishing waters, and waters where trends in fish contamination are being monitored. Also, testing focuses on those species that are most likely to be caught and eaten by sport anglers. NYS DEC also tests some game species (e.g., waterfowl and snapping turtles) that accumulate chemical contaminants. The Department reviews the NYS DEC testing results for fish and game to determine if an advisory should be issued or revised for a given waterbody, or for a particular species of fish or game See Fish and Game Advisory Derivation below for more details.

Types of Advisories

To reduce exposure to contaminants, and help anglers and hunters choose which fish and game to keep for food, NYS DOH has the following types of health advice:

1. Statewide Advice for Sportfish

picture of a fish

The statewide advice  for New York State fish was updated in 2024 and varies by fish species. If there is no specific advice for a waterbody, the Department recommends following this statewide advice (when fishing outside of the Catskill and Adirondack Regions) because:

  • some chemicals are commonly found in New York State fish (e.g., mercury and PCBs);
  • fish from all waters have not been tested; and
  • fish may contain unidentified contaminants.

2. Regional Advice for Sportfish

Species-specific regional advisories are issued because of regional patterns for a specific contaminant (mercury) for several species that can be reasonably anticipated to apply to most or all waters in the region including those that have not been sampled. NYS DEC data indicate that certain species from Adirondack and Catskill region waters often have mercury levels approaching or exceeding levels of concern, generally higher than mercury levels in the same species from the rest of the State. If there is no specific advice for a waterbody in either the Adirondack or the Catskill region, the Department recommends following the appropriate regional advice.

3. Specific Advice for Sportfish

For some waterbodies in New York, the Department issues specific advice that is more restrictive than the statewide or corresponding regional advice because contaminant levels in some fish are higher. Waters that have specific advisories have at least one species of fish with an elevated contaminant level, which means that other fish species may also be affected. The specific advice for a waterbody also applies to smaller tributaries and connected waters if there are no dams, falls, or other barriers to stop the fish from moving upstream or downstream. This is because chemicals remain in fish when they move from one waterbody or location to another.

For a very limited number of waterbodies with extensive data showing low contaminant levels, the Department issues specific advice that is less restrictive than the statewide advice.

The information on our website (www.health.ny.gov/fish) will help you find which waterbodies in New York State have specific advisories, where they are located, and what that specific advice is. Our website also lists public access waters with the general advice; where the whole family can eat up to four meals per month.

4. Game Advice

Game may also contain contaminants at levels of concern. The Department issues advice about choosing and preparing game to eat, such as snapping turtles and wild waterfowl. For more information about eating game please visit Advice on Eating Game.

How We Set Advisories

The New York State Department of Health uses a risk management approach when setting fish and game consumption advisories and updates its approach as new information become available.

Various factors are considered when reviewing fish or game information for a specific waterbody, area, or region. These factors include but are not limited to the following:

  1. A quantitative health risk assessment, based on toxicity values (e.g., from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Integrated Risk Information System (IRIS) toxicity database) and representative fish consumption rates, is used to evaluate risks. Average contaminant levels (concentrations) in the fish are typically compared to contaminant-specific guidelines or standards (including US Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) marketplace standards as available 1). See Table 1, 2, 3 and 4 below for the Department’s numerical guidelines for determining fish consumption advisories for nearly all New York State waters. Note that these guidelines are updated when new information becomes available and as emerging contaminants are assessed.
  2. Data characteristics (such as number and type of samples, species, age, length, percent lipid, sample location, etc.) are evaluated to determine whether the data are adequate to represent contaminant levels in the fish and game population of interest. For example:
    1. Because of specific characteristics (e.g., fat content, food chain position, etc.), certain fish species tend to accumulate higher levels of chemical contaminants than other fish species. It is common for different fish species from the same waterbody to have 10-fold differences in contaminant levels. By issuing species-specific advisories, the Department helps anglers identify which fish species are better choices to eat. (Note: for some waters, fish contaminant levels are so high, and the contamination is so pervasive, that the Department recommends avoiding eating all species.)
    2. For most contaminants, larger (older) fish are more contaminated than smaller (younger) fish of the same species. In some cases, enough information is available to issue advisories based on the length of the fish to identify better choices to eat.
  3. Temporal and spatial patterns are considered when characterizing fish contaminant levels. For example, contaminant levels may be higher in river fish upstream near a contaminant source, and lower downstream. Or contaminant levels may show a consistent downward trend in some waterbodies while having high variability and no consistent trend in other waterbodies.
  4. Populations at greater potential risk are considered, recognizing that health risks may be greater for the sensitive populations (people who may become pregnant (under 50), infants, and young children under age 15) than for the general population (everyone else). Many chemicals that accumulate in fish and game may have a greater effect on developing organs in a young child and in a developing fetus than in an adult. Some of these chemicals also build up in women’s bodies and can be passed on to infants in breastmilk.
  5. The balance between the benefits of fishing and fish consumption versus risks of contaminant exposure are considered, bearing in mind that this balance may be different for at-risk populations versus the general population.
  6. Creating advice that is appropriate, concise, and easy to understand and remember is an important factor. For example: the Department uses three basic meal categories (4 meals/month, 1 meal/month, and DON’T EAT); and a meal size of one-half pound. Stating the assumed meal size gives people the option to adjust their fish consumption accordingly (e.g., they could eat 2 one-quarter pound meals instead of 1 one-half pound meal when following an advisory).
  7. Whether a waterbody will be undergoing a change that may affect fish contaminant levels, such as sediment dredging or other contaminated-site remediation, is also considered.

New York State Fish Consumption Guidelines

Among the important factors considered in the development of fish consumption advisories is the comparison of measured fish contaminant levels with numerical guidelines. The New York State Department of Health uses guidelines for PCBs, mercury, PFOS and other contaminants informed by estimates of human health risk, standards and guidelines from other authoritative bodies, and whether these guidelines fit standard fish meal frequency categories communicated by the Department (Tables 1, 2, 3 and 4) 2. These categories (see (f) above) consider ease of communication for improved public understanding. Guidelines may be updated when new information becomes available or new contaminants are found.

These guidelines have been used to set advice for individual species, waterbodies, and regions in New York State. If there is no specific advice for a waterbody, the appropriate regional or statewide advice applies. More restrictive advice for specific waterbodies and fish species is issued based on an exceedance of a contaminant guideline if data suggest that the statewide or regional advice is not adequately protective. For most fish species and waterbodies in New York, the Department issues advice for the Sensitive Population that is more restrictive than advice for the General Population because the fetus and young child may be particularly susceptible to the toxic effects of contaminants (see (d) above).

Advisory Guideline Approaches

PCBs

The Department uses PCB guidelines that closely align with advisory protocols used by other Great Lakes states that are protective at low concentrations (see Tables 1, 2 and 3) for both the General and Sensitive Populations. These guidelines encourage the sensitive population to eat fish if data show PCB levels are low enough.

Table 1. NYS DOH 2020 Revised Fish Consumption Numerical Guidelines for PCBs 2, 3

PCB concentration range (ppm) Advisory
General Population Sensitive Population
<0.21 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥0.21 ppm - <0.5 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 1 meal per month
≥0.5 ppm - <1 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Eat up to 1 meal per month
≥1 ppm Don’t eat Don’t eat

The sensitive population refers to people who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15. The general population refers to everyone else.

Mercury

The Department uses mercury guidelines that closely align with advisory protocols used by other Great Lakes states that are protective at low concentrations for both the general and the sensitive populations (see Table 2.) In 2024, the Department began applying more protective species-specific statewide advice based on comprehensive analysis of mercury concentration data. Like the PCB approach, the overall mercury approach allows the sensitive population to eat low-mercury species from some of the most popular waters.

Table 2. New York State Fish Consumption Numerical Mercury Guidelines2, 3

Mercury concentration range (ppm) Advisory
General Population Sensitive Population
<0.22 ppm* Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥0.22 ppm - <0.65 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 1 meal per month
≥0.65 ppm - <0.95 ppm* Eat up to 1 meal per month Eat up to 1 meal per month
≥0.95 ppm - <2.0 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Don’t eat
≥2.0 ppm Don’t eat Don’t eat
* 0.22 ppm and 0.95 ppm are guidelines recommended by the Great Lakes Consortium for Fish Consumption Advisories in the Protocol for a Uniform Great Lakes Sports Fish Consumption Advisory.

The sensitive population refers to people who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15. The general population refers to everyone else.

PFOS

NYS DOH currently uses PFOS guidelines that closely align with advisory protocols used by other Great Lakes states based on Best Practice for Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) Guidelines developed with the Great Lakes Consortium for Fish Consumption Advisories (Consortium) 4.

NYSDOH adopted the Consortium Best Practice advisory guidelines for the General Population, but opted for stricter guidelines for the Sensitive Population when PFOS concentrations range between 50 and 200 ppb. See Table 3.

Table 3. New York State Fish Consumption Numerical Guidelines for PFOS2, 3

PFOS concentration range (ppb) Advisory
General Population Sensitive Population
<50 ppb Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥50 ppb - <200 ppb Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥200ppb Don't eat Don't eat

The sensitive population refers to people who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15. The general population refers to everyone else.

Other Contaminants

The Department has adopted advisory guidelines for several other contaminants found in fish (Table 4). Although these contaminants may not be as prevalent as PCBs, mercury, and PFOS in NYS waters, they can be important sources of potential human health risk in fish from some waters. Similarly, the advisory guidelines for these contaminants are informed by human health risk, standards and guidelines from other authoritative bodies, and how these guidelines correspond to the different fish meal consumption frequencies communicated by the Department.

Table 4. New York State Fish Consumption Numerical Guidelines for Other Contaminants 2, 3

Contaminant Concentration range (ppm) Advisory
General Population Sensitive Population
Cadmium <1 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥1 ppm - <2 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥2 ppm Don't eat Don't eat
Total chlordane <0.3 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥0.3 ppm - <0.9 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥0.9 ppm Don't eat Don't eat
Total DDT <5 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥5 ppm - <15 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥15 ppm Don't eat Don't eat
Total mirex <0.1 ppm Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥0.1 ppm - <0.3 ppm Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥0.3 ppm Don't eat Don't eat
Dioxin (total 2,3,7,8-TCDD Toxic Equivalents) <10 ppt Eat up to 4 meals per month Eat up to 4 meals per month
≥10 ppt - <30 ppt Eat up to 1 meal per month Don't eat
≥30 ppt Don't eat Don't eat

The sensitive population refers to people who can become pregnant (under age 50) and children under 15. The general population refers to everyone else.

Continued Integration of NYSDOH New York State Advisory Guidelines for Advisories

The PCB, mercury, and PFOS guidelines (as well as guidelines for the other, less prominent common contaminants) are being applied to waterbodies with recent data of sufficient quantity and quality to use this more refined approach. This is especially appropriate for waterbodies shared with other Great Lake states, and waters with existing restrictive advice and clearly declining PCB levels. Existing waterbody, regional, and statewide mercury advisories will continue to be evaluated using the new guidelines as NYS DOH the Department strives to refine update and issue advice that is more protective, easier to follow, and allows the sensitive population to eat fish with lower contaminant levels from many popular fishing spots.

1  The US FDA marketplace standards are based on: potential health risks versus potential economic losses to the marketplace.

2  Chemical acronym definitions: PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane), TCDD (2,3,7,8 -tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin), and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate).

3  Unit definitions: ppm (parts per million), ppb (parts per billion), ppt (parts per trillion).

4  The Consortium is a collaboration of fish advisory programs from U.S. state (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin) governmental health, water quality, and fisheries agencies bordering the Great Lakes, the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks of Ontario, Canada, and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.