r/EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Water
4305
EPA-823-F-99-005
July 1999
Of
Summary
The 1998 update for the database National Listing offish and Wildlife Advisories (NLFWA) is now available from the U.S. Environ-
mental Protection Agency (EPA). This database includes all available information describing state-, tribal-, and federally-issued fish
consumption advisories in the United States for the 50 states, the District of Columbia, four United States territories and one tribal
organization. It also includes information from 1997 for 12 Canadian provinces and territories. The database contains advisory
information provided to EPA by the states as of December 1998. The number of advisories in the United States rose by 205 in 1998
to a total of 2,506, a 9% increase over 1997. The number of waterbodies under advisory represents 15.8% of the Nation's total lake
acres and 6.8% of the Nation's total river miles. In addition, 100% of the Great Lakes waters and their connecting waters and 58.9%
of the Nation's coastal waters are also under advisory. The total number of advisories in the United States increased for three major
contaminants—mercury, PCBs, and DDT—but declined for dioxins and chlordane.
Beginning in 1996, EPA contacted health officials in Canada in an effort to identify fish consumption advisories in effect. The number
of Canadian advisories in effect as of December 1997 was 2,625. No updates to information on Canadian advisories were made in
1998. All of the 1997 Canadian fish advisories resulted from contamination from one or more of the following five pollutants:
mercury, PCBs, dioxins/fiirans, toxaphene, and mirex. Provincewide advisories for mercury were in effect for New Brunswick and Nova
Scotia in 1997.
The NLFWA is now for use on the Internet at: http://www.epa.gow/ost/fish
Background
The states and the four U.S. territories and Native American
tribes (hereafter referred to as states) have primary respon-
sibility for protecting residents from the health risks of
consuming contaminated noncommercially caught fish
and wildlife. They do this by issuing consumption adviso-
ries for the general population, including recreational and
subsistence fishers, as well as for sensitive subpopulations
(such as pregnant women, nursing mothers, and children).
These advisories inform the public that high concentrations
of chemical contaminants (e.g., mercury and dioxins) have
been found in local fish and wildlife. The advisories include
recommendations to limit or avoid consumption of certain
fish and wildlife species from specific waterbodies or, in
some cases, from specific waterbody types (e.g., all lakes).
Similarly, in Canada, the provinces and territories have
primary responsibility for issuing fish consumption adviso-
ries for their residents.
States typically issue five major types of advisories and
bans to protect both the general population and specific
subpopulations.
• When levels of chemical contamination pose a health risk
to the general public, states may issue a no-consumption
advisory for the general population (NCGP).
• When contaminant levels pose a health risk to sensitive
subpopulations, states may issue a no-consumption
advisory for the sensitive subpopulation (NCSP).
• In waterbodies where chemical contamination is less
severe, states may issue an advisory recommending that
either the general population (RGP) or a sensitive
subpopulation (RSP) restrict their consumption of the
specific species for which the advisory is issued.
• The fifth type of state-issued advisory is the commercial
fishing ban (CFB), which prohibits the commercial
harvest and sale offish, shellfish, and/or wildlife species
from a designated waterbody and, by inference, the
consumption of all species identified in the fishing ban
from that waterbody.
As shown in Table 1, advisories of all types increased in
number from 1993 to 1998.
Table 1. U.S. Advisories Issued from 1993 to 1998 by Type
No Consumption - General Population
No Consumption - Sensitive Subpopulation
Restricted Consumption - General Population
Restricted Consumption - Sensitive Subpopulation
Commercial Fishing Ban
1993
503
555
993
689
30
1994
462
720
1,182
900
30
1995
463
778
1,372
1,042
55
1996
563
1,022
1,763
1,370
50
1997
545
1,119
1,843
1,450
52
1998
532
1,211
2,062
1,595
50
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Advisories in Effect
The database includes information on
• Species and size range of fish and/or wildlife
• Chemical contaminants identified in the advisory
• Geographic location of each advisory (including
landmarks, river miles, or latitude and longitude
coordinates of the affected waterbody)
• Lake acreage or river miles under advisory
• Population for whom the advisory was issued.
The 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, and the new 1998 versions
of the NLFWA database can generate national, regional,
and state maps that illustrate any combination of these
advisory parameters. In addition, the 1996 through 1998
versions of the database can provide information on the
percentage of waterbodies in each state that is currently
under an advisory and the percentage of waters assessed.
A new feature of the 1998 database provides users access
Figure 1
to fish tissue residue data for those waterbodies under
advisory in 16 states. The name of each state contact, a
phone number, FAX number, and e-mail address are also
provided so that users can obtain additional information
concerning specific advisories. Comparable advisory
information (excluding tissue residue data) and contact
information for 1997 are provided for each Canadian
province or territory,
Advisory Trends
The number of waterbodies in the United States under
advisory reported in 1998 (2,506) represents a 9% increase
from the number reported in 1997 (2,299 advisories) and a
98% increase from the number of advisories issued since
1993 (1,266 advisories). Figure 1 shows the number of
advisories currently in effect for each state and the number
of new advisories issued since 1997. The increase in
advisories issued by the states generally reflects an increase
in the number of assessments of the levels of chemical
contaminants in fish and wildlife tissues. These additional
Total Number of Fish in Effect in in 1998
(change from 1997)
O
GU 0 (0)
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assessments were conducted as a result of the increased
awareness of health risks associated with the consumption
of chemically contaminated fish and wildlife. Some of the
increase in advisory numbers, however, may be due to the
increasing use of EPA risk assessment procedures in setting
advisories rather than Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
action levels developed for commercial fisheries.
Bioaccumulatiwe Pollutants
Although advisories in the United States have been issued
for a total of 46 chemical contaminants, most advisories
issued have involved five primary contaminants. These
chemical contaminants are biologically accumulated in the
tissues of aquatic organisms at concentrations many times
higher than concentrations in the water. In addition, these
chemical contaminants persist for relatively long periods in
sediments where they can be accumulated by bottom-
dwelling animals and passed up the food chain to fish.
Concentrations of these contaminants in the tissues of
aquatic organisms may be increased at each successive
level of the food chain. As a result, top predators in a food
chain, such as trout, salmon, or walleye, may have concen-
trations of these chemicals in their tissues that can be a
million times higher than the concentrations in the water,
Mercury, PCBs, chlordane, dioxins, and DDT (and its
degradation products, DDE and ODD) were at least partly
responsible for 99% of all fish consumption advisories in
effect in 1998. (See Figure 2.)
Mercury
Advisories for mercury increased 8% from 1997 to 1998
(1,782 to 1,931) and increased 115% from 1993 to 1998
(899 to 1,931). The number of states that have issued
mercury advisories also has risen steadily from 27 in 1993
to 40 in 1997 and remained at 40 in 1998. The rise in the
number of mercury advisories in 1998 can be attributed
primarily to issuance of new mercury advisories in 11
states. The majority (80%) of these new advisories,
Figure 2
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Dioxins
DDT
Others
Trends in Number of Advisories
Issued for Various Pollutants
• 1998
U1997
•-•1996
1995
1994
D1993
600 800 1,000 1,200 1,400 1,600 1,800
Number of Advisories
however, were issued in three states: Minnesota (61),
Georgia (57), and Indiana (17).
It should also be noted that 10 states (Connecticut,
Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, and Vermont) have
issued statewide advisories for mercury in freshwater lakes
and/or rivers. Another five states (Alabama, Florida,
Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas) have statewide advisories
for mercury in their coastal waters. To date, 90% of the
1,931 mercury advisories in effect have been issued by the
following 11 states: Minnesota (821), Wisconsin (402),
Indiana (126), Florida (97), Georgia (80), Massachusetts
(58), Michigan (53), New Jersey (30), New Mexico (26),
South Carolina (24), and Montana (22),
PCBs
Advisories for PCBs increased 15% from 1997 to 1998
(from 588 to 679) and increased 112% from 1993 to 1998
(319 to 679), The number of states that have issued PCB
advisories increased only slightly from 31 to 35 from 1993
to 1994, declined to 34 states in 1995 and 1996, and
increased to 35 states in 1997 and up to 36 states in 1998
with the addition of Hawaii. The majority (77%) of the new
PCB advisories in 1998 were issued by four states: Michigan
(48), Illinois (11), Indiana (5), and Minnesota (5), To date,
79% of the of the 679 PCB advisories in effect have been
issued by 10 states: Indiana (125), Michigan (104),
Minnesota (83), Wisconsin (54), New York (47), Ohio (37),
Georgia (25), Nebraska (22), Pennsylvania (22), and
Massachusetts (20). Three states (Indiana, New York, and
District of Columbia) have issued statewide freshwater
(river and/or lake) advisories for PCBs, Six other states
(New Jersey, Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, New
Hampshire, and Massachusetts) have issued PCB advisories
for all of their coastal marine waters.
Other Pollutants
The total number of advisories for DDT (and its degrada-
tion products, DDE and ODD) increased from 33 in 1997
to 34 in 1998. The total number of advisories for dioxins
rose from 54 in 1993 to 63 in 1994, held steady at 63 in
1995, declined to 60 in 1996, increased to 65 in 1997, and
fell to 59 in 1998, a 9% decrease from the previous year,
Dioxins are one of several chemical contaminants for which
advisories have been rescinded by many states, in part
because many pulp and paper mills have changed their
processes. In 1998, three states (Arkansas, Michigan, and
Virginia), rescinded a total of four dioxin advisories. The
number of chlordane advisories also decreased, by 11 %,
from 117 in 1997 to 104 in 1998.
Wildlife Advisories
In addition to advisories for fish and shellfish, the database
also contains several wildlife advisories. Four states have
issued consumption advisories for turtles: Arizona (3),
Massachusetts (1), Minnesota (8), and New York (statewide
advisory). One state (Massachusetts) has an advisory for
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frogs, New York has a statewide advisory for waterfowl
(including mergansers), Arkansas has an advisory for
woodducks, and Utah has an advisory for American coot
and ducks. Maine issued a statewide advisory for moose
liver and kidneys due to cadmium levels.
Table 2. Summary of Statewide Advisories by Waterbody Type
State
Alabama
Connecticut
Dist. of Columbia
Florida
Indiana
Louisiana
Maine
Massachusetts
Michigan
Mississippi
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New York
North Carolina
Ohio
Rhode Island
Texas
Vermont
Lake
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mirex
DDT
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
River
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
PCBs
Chlordane
Mirex
DDT
Mercury
Mercury
Mercury
Coastal Waters
Mercury
PCBs
Mercury
Mercury
Dioxins
PCBs
organ ics
Mercury
PCBs
PCBs
Cadmium
Dioxins
PCBs
Cadmium
Dioxins
PCBs
Mercury
1998 Advisory Listing
The 1998 database lists 2,506 advisories in 47 states,
the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territory of American
Samoa. Some of these advisories represent statewide
advisories for certain types of waterbodies (e.g., lakes,
rivers, and/or coastal waters). An advisory may represent
one waterbody or one type of waterbody within a state's
jurisdiction. Statewide advisories are counted as one
advisory. The database counts one advisory for each
waterbody name or type of waterbody regardless of the
number of fish or wildlife species that are affected or the
number of chemical contaminants detected at concentra-
tions of human health concern. Eighteen states (Alabama,
Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Indiana,
Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi,
New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina,
Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas, and Vermont) currently have
statewide advisories in effect (see Table 2), Missouri
rescinded its statewide advisories for lakes and rivers in
1998, and Mississippi added a statewide coastal advisory
for mercury. A statewide advisory is issued to warn the
Table 3. Fish Advisories Issued for the Great Lakes
Great Lakes
Lake Superior
Lake Michigan
Lake Huron
Lake Erie
Lake Ontario
PCBs
*
«
«
*
•
Dioxins
«
«
Mercury
*
«
Chlordane
*
«
«
public of the potential for widespread contamination of
certain species offish in certain types of waterbodies (e.g.,
lakes, rivers and streams, or coastal waters) or certain
species of wildlife (e.g., moose or waterfowl), In such a
case, the state may have found a level of contamination
of a specific pollutant in a particular fish or wildlife species
over a relatively wide geographic area that warrants
advising the public of the situation.
The statewide advisories and 2,506 specifically named
waterbodies represent approximately 15.8% of the
Nation's total lake acreage and 6.8% of the Nation's total
river miles. In addition, 100% of the Great Lakes waters
and their connecting waters are also under advisory (see
Table 3). The Great Lakes waters are considered separately
from other lakes, and their connecting waters are consid-
ered separately from other river miles. The percentages of
lake acres and river miles in each state that are currently
under a fish advisory are shown in Figures 3 and 4, respec-
tively.
In addition to the Great Lakes, many other Great Waters
of the United States are currently under fish consumption
advisories for various pollutants. The Great Waters include
not only the Great Lakes but also Lake Champlain (which
is under advisories for PCBs and mercury), the Chesapeake
Bay, 28 National Estuary Program (NEP) Sites, and 23
Figure 3
Percentage of Lake Acres
Currently Under Advisory
Eleven states have 100% of their lake acres under fish advisories (these
include some states with statewide advisories), another 8 states have
10% to 50% of their lake acres under advisories, 21 states have <10%
of their lake acres under advisories, and 15 states have no lake acres
under advisories.
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Figure 4
Percentage of River Miles
Currently Under Advisory
Eleven states have 100% of their river miles under fish
advisories (these include states with statewide advisories), 30 states
have < 10% of their river miles under advisories, and 13 states have no
river miles under advisories.
National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Sites
(see Table 4). Although the Chesapeake Bay itself is not
under any advisories, the Potomac, James, Black, and
Anacostia rivers, which connect to the Chesapeake, are all
under advisories. All of these rivers, with the exception of
the James River (which is under advisory for kepone), are
under chlordane advisories. The Anacostia River is also
listed for PCBs, and the Potomac River is listed for PCBs and
dioxins in addition to chlordane. Baltimore Harbor, which
also connects to the Chesapeake, is under advisory for
chlordane contamination in fish tissue.
A number of the major estuaries listed in the NEP and/or
designated as NERRS sites are under fish and/or shellfish
advisories for a range of chemical contaminants (see Table
4). Sixty-three percent of the total number of NEP, NERRS,
and combined sites are under fish consumption advisories.
There are 18 sites that have no current fish consumption
advisories.
Several states have issued fish advisories for all of their
coastal waters. Using coastal mileages calculated by the
Table 4. Fish Consumption Advisories Issued for NEP and NERRS Sites
Waterbody
Casco Bay, ME *
Wells, ME "
Great Bay, NH *
Great Bay, Little Bay,
and Hampton Harbor, NH *
Massachusetts Bay *
Buzzards Bay, MA *
Waquoit Bay, MA *
IMarragansett, Rl * *
Long Island Sound, NY/CT "
Peconic Bay, NY *
Hudson River, NY f
New York/New Jersey Harbor *
Barnegat Bay, NJ *
Jacques Cousteau-Great Bay
and Mullica River, NJ *
Delaware Estuary, DE/NJ/PA * *
Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds, NC *
Ashepoo-Combahee-
Edisto Basin, SC
Indian River Lagoon, Fl *
Charlotte Harbor, FL *
Rookery Bay, Fl *
Sarasota Bay, FL *
Tarnpa Bay, FL *
Apalachicola Bay, FL *
Mobile Bay, AL *
Casco Bay, ME'
Wells, ME "
Great Bay, NH *
Weeks Bay, Al *
Baratarria-Terrebonne
Estuarine Complex, LA *
Galveston Bay, TX *
Corpus Christi Bay, TX "
Puget Sound, WA *
Columbia River, OR/WA *
San Francisco Bay, CA *
PCBs
«
»
»
«
•
Dioxins
•
*
»
«
•
*
•
•
*
•
«
•
•
Mercury
«
*
*
«
•
•
Cadmium
Chlordane
2
•
Others
»1
O1
«1
•3
»4
•s
1 Organic compounds.
2For waterfowl.
3Specific embayments of Puget Sound
are listed for the following pollutants;
creosote, pentachlorophenol, volatile
organic compounds (VOCs), tetrachloro-
ethylene, arsenic, metals (unspecified),
vinyl chloride, polyaromatic hydrocarbons
(PAHs), polynuclear aromatics, and
pesticides (unspecified).
4 DDT.
5 DDT, dieldrin, other unspecified
pesticides.
'NEP site.
*NERRS site.
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National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an
estimated 58.9% of the coastline of the contiguous 48
states currently is under advisory. This includes 61,5% of
the Atlantic Coast and 100% of the Gulf Coast. No Pacific
Coast state has issued a statewide advisory for any of its
coastal waters although several local areas along the Pacific
Coast are under advisory. The Atlantic coastal advisories
have been issued for a wide variety of chemical contami-
nants including mercury, PCBs, dioxins, and cadmium,
while all of the Gulf Coast advisories have been issued for
mercury,
Summary of Canadian Advisories
No new information was collected regarding fish advisories
in Canada for 1998. Beginning in 1996, EPA contacted
health and environmental officials in the 12 Canadian
provinces and territories to obtain narrative and geographic
information system (GIS) information on advisories
throughout Canada, Figure 5 shows the number of
waterbodies under advisory in 1997 for each of the
Canadian provinces. The number of Canadian advisories in
effect in 1997 was 2,625. Provincewide advisories for
mercury were also in effect in 1997 for Nova Scotia and
New Brunswick, With respect to chemical contaminants,
advisories in Canada have been issued for a total of five
bioaccumulative chemical contaminants including mercury
(2,572), PCBs (59), dioxins/furans (68), toxaphene (16),
and mirex (9). More than 97% of all Canadian advisories
have been issued for mercury.
Figure 5
Total Number of Fish Advisories in Effect in Canada
"Provincewide advisories in effect in 1997 for Nova Scotia
(ail rivers and lakes) and New Brunswick (all lakes).
Use and
The NLFWA database was developed by EPA to help
federal, state, and local government agencies and Native
American tribes assess the potential for human health risks
associated with consumption of chemical contaminants in
noncommercially caught fish and wildlife. The data
contained in this database may also be used by the general
public to make informed decisions about the waterbodies
in which they choose to fish or harvest wildlife; the
frequency with which they fish these waterbodies; the
species, size, and number offish they collect; and the
frequency with which they consume fish from specific
waterbodies.
EPA will make this 1998 update of the NLFWA database
available on the Internet at;
http://www.epa.gov/ost/fish
Further information on specific advisories within a particu-
lar state is available from the appropriate state agency
contact listed in the database. This is particularly important
for advisories recommending that consumers restrict their
consumption offish from certain waterbodies. State health
departments provide more specific information for
restricted consumption advisories (RGP and RSP) on the
appropriate meal size and meal frequency (number of
meals per week or month) that is considered safe to
consume for a specific consumer group (e.g., the general
public versus pregnant women, nursing mothers, and
young children). For further information on Canadian
advisories, contact the appropriate provincial contact given
in the database.
For more information concerning the National Fish and
Wildlife Contamination Program, contact:
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Office of Science and Technology
401 M Street SW, Maildrop 4305
Washington, DC 20460
U.S. EPA contact: Jeffrey Bigler
Phone 202 260-1305 FAX 202 260-9830
e-mail: Bigler,Jeff@epa,gov
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