| Fish Consumption and Advisory Awareness in the Great Lakes Basin Pamela Imm, Lynda Knobeloch, Henry A. Anderson, and the Great Lakes Sport Fish Consortium Division of Public Health, Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Madison, Wisconsin, USA Abstract
More than 61 million adults live in the eight U.S. states bordering the Great Lakes. Between June 2001 and June 2002, a population-based, random-digit-dial telephone survey of adults residing in Great Lakes (GL) states was conducted to assess consumption of commercial and sport-caught fish and awareness of state-issued consumption advisories for GL fish. On the basis of the weighted survey data, approximately 84% of the adults living in these states included fish in their diets. Seven percent (an estimated 4.2 million adults) consumed fish caught from the Great Lakes. The percentage of residents who had consumed sport-caught fish (from any water source) varied regionally and was highest among those who lived in Minnesota (44%) and Wisconsin (39%) . Consumption of GL sport fish was highest among residents of Michigan (16%) and Ohio (12%) . Among residents who had eaten GL fish, awareness of consumption advisories varied by gender and race and was lowest among women (30%) and black residents (15%) . However, 70% of those who consumed GL sport-caught fish twice a month or more (an estimated 509,000 adults across all eight states) were aware of the advisories. Findings from this survey indicate that exposure to persistent contaminants found in GL fish is likely limited to a relatively small subpopulation of avid sport-fish consumers. Results also underscore the public health importance of advisories for commercial fish because an estimated 2.9 million adults living in these states consume more than 104 fish meals per year and may be at risk of exceeding the reference doses for methylmercury, polychlorinated biphenyls, and other bioaccumulative contaminants. Key words: advisory, awareness, fish, Great Lakes, sport fish. Environ Health Perspect 113: 1325-1329 (2005) . doi:10.1289/ehp.7980 available via http://dx.doi.org/ [Online 13 June 2005]
Address correspondence to P. Imm, Department of Health and Family Services, 1 West Wilson St., Room 150, Madison, WI 53703 USA. Telephone: (608) 267-3565. Fax: (608) 267-4853. E-mail: immpb@dhfs.state.wi.us This work was funded by U.S. Public Health Service Agency for Toxic Substances and Diseases Registry grant 75/ATH598322-03. The authors declare they have no competing financial interests. Received 31 January 2005 ; accepted 13 June 2005.
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