Fish Consumption Advisories

Health Benefits of Eating Fish

Fish are nutritious and good to eat. When properly prepared, fish provide numerous health benefits, especially for the heart. The American Heart Association recommends eating two to three fish meals each week.

The benefits of eating fish include:

• Fish offer high-quality protein with fewer calories than a similar-sized portion of meat. Example: Both catfish and ground beef are about 18 percent protein. But, for an 8-ounce meal, the catfish will have only about 232 calories, while the regular ground beef will have about 640 calories.
• Fish are low in sodium and are good sources of potassium, vitamins and other minerals.
• Fish are generally low in cholesterol and saturated fats, which have been associated with high blood pressure and heart disease.
• While the benefits of fish on nutrition are still being studied, much of the current research is focused on various kinds of beneficial fats in fish, particularly a kind of omega-3 fatty acids which are in some fish and fish oils. Some studies have indicated that eating these fatty acids have favorable effects on health conditions such as reducing blood cholesterol levels and high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries.

Keeping and Cleaning Fresh Fish

Keeping Your Catch Fresh

The two best ways of keeping fish fresh on a fishing trip are to keep them alive or chill them. Since keeping fish alive is not always possible, a practical solution to the problem is an ice chest. Keep the drain open on the chest, because dead fish left in water will soon lose their flavor.

Although not as effective as an ice cooler, fish stringers are often used out of necessity, especially when wade fishing.

Cleaning

The fresher the fish, the easier it is to clean. Do not freeze the fish whole or put the job off until the skin is dry and brittle. Scaling the fish can be done in a variety of ways. Fish scalers, which can be purchased from most tackle shops, do an adequate job.

When skinning catfish, drive a nail through the head into a board, with the fish’s belly down. Cut completely through the skin around the back of the head and pull the skin off with pliers. Then, remove the head and entrails. Larger catfish are best filleted after they have been skinned and huge ones may be staked – leaving the backbone in and cutting crosswise in one-inch steaks.

For frying small panfish such as bluegill or crappie whole in a skillet, make a cut down each side of the dorsal and anal fins, then pull the fins out by the “roots.” After scaling, make a diagonal cut through the fish, thus removing the head, entrails and rib cage in one operation. Leave the tails on. When fried crisp, they make delicious “crunchies.”

Fish Consumption Advisories

The West Virginia Fish Consumption Advisories are presented in the following pages. These recommendations are intended to allow you to receive the nutritional benefits from eating fish while keeping the level of contaminants from fish at levels in your body where health problems are not likely. Fish advisories are not intended to discourage you from eating fish, but should be used as a guide to eating fish in the proper amounts so as not to adversely impact your health. You can reduce your risks by eating fish less likely to contain contaminants, cleaning and cooking them properly, and eating portions that correspond to your body weight.

Contaminants in Fish

Some fish take in contaminants (PCBs, for example) from the water they live in and the food they eat. These contaminants build up in the fish over time. Eating contaminated fish can result in a buildup of these chemicals in your body, so it is important to keep your exposure as low as possible. The meal advisory on the following pages is intended to protect people, especially pregnant and nursing women, women who may become pregnant in the next few years, and small children from potential health problems from eating contaminants in fish.

The Statewide Consumption Advisories listed on the following pages are based on analysis of fish collected from waters across the state. Mercury levels drive the majority of the consumption advisories, with PCBs being much less widespread. Selenium has been measured from certain waters at low levels that do not require consumption restrictions beyond those in place for other contaminants.

Which fish are less likely to contain contaminants?

Some fish such as sunfish, crappie and trout eat insects and other aquatic life and are less likely to contain contaminants at levels that might affect your health. If you eat walleye, bass, and other predatory fish, eat the smaller, younger fish that are less likely to contain contaminants. Eat fewer fish that feed on the bottom of lakes and rivers (for example, carp) and are more likely to contain contaminants.

How should I prepare and cook fish to reduce the amount of contaminants in the fish?

PCBs and Dioxin are contaminants that usually build up in a fish’s fat deposits and just underneath the skin. By removing the skin and fat before cooking, you can reduce the levels of these chemicals. Mercury and Selenium collect in the fish’s muscle and cannot be reduced by cleaning and cooking methods.

To reduce PCBs and Dioxin contaminants:

• Fillet fish and throw away the fat, skin and internal organs (where contaminants are most likely to accumulate) before you cook them. Fat is concentrated on the belly, the middle of the back, the line along the sides, and under the skin.
• Cooking does not destroy the contaminants, but heat from cooking melts some of the fat and allows some of the contaminated fat to drain away. Broil, grill or bake the trimmed, skinned fish on a rack so the fat drips away. Throw away the fat that comes from cooking fish.

How to Use This Advisory

Follow the advice presented in this brochure, noting the differences between the General Advisories for all West Virginia waters on this page and the Specific Advisories on pages 26-27. Find the meal advice for the fish you’ve caught. “Do Not Eat” means no one should eat those fish because of very high contamination. The other groups (“One Meal a Week,” “Two Meals a Month,” “One Meal a Month,” and “Six Meals a Year”) are advice for how often to eat a fish meal. The size of the fish meal depends on your body weight. To adjust serving sizes, follow the advice in the meal size table.

Women of childbearing age, children and people who regularly eat fish are particularly susceptible to contaminants that build up over time. If you fall into one of these categories, you should be especially careful to follow the meal sizes and space fish meals out according to the advisory tables.

Your body can get rid of some contaminants over time. Spacing the meals out helps prevent the contaminants from building up to harmful levels in the body. For example, if the fish you eat is in the “One Meal a Month Group,” wait a month before eating another meal of fish from any restricted category. Occasionally eating fish in quantities slightly greater than the advisories recommend, such as during an annual fishing vacation, should not present a health hazard.

Disclaimer: Advisories are based on fish tissue gathered for specific fish species in specific streams or lakes. Fish move throughout the year and may travel many miles in one day. Unless there are man-made or natural barriers, fish carrying contaminants may move into upstream or downstream reaches, or into tributaries. Therefore, it is recommended to be aware of potential fish movement in the fish consumption advisories on pages 25-27.

Meal Sizes

For Additional Information

The advisory listing was current at the time this summary went to press. Other fish consumption advisories may have been issued or lifted since that time. Notice of such actions is released to the public through press releases. For further information or the most current advice contact:

• WVDHHR: (304) 558-2981 • oehs.wvdhhr.org/fish
• WVDNR: (304) 558-6200 • WVdnr.gov
• WVDEP: (304) 926-0495 • dep.wv.gov
• USEPA: epa.gov/fish-tech

2025 Statewide Consumption Advisory Chart