Types of Advisories

New York is a water-rich state: 2.6 million acres of water on Lakes Erie, Ontario, and Champlain; approximately 0.75 million acres on 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 are sought by anglers in these waters. To help anglers choose which fish to keep for food, NYS DOH has two types of health advice:

1. General advice. The general health advisory for sportfish is that people can eat up to four, one-half pound meals a month (which should be spaced out to about a meal a week) of fish from New York State fresh waters and some marine waters near the mouth of the Hudson River. If there is no specific advice for a particular waterbody, follow this general advice.
2. Specific advice. For some waterbodies in New York, NYS DOH issues stricter advice (eat a limited amount or none at all) because contaminant levels in some fish are higher. To be more protective, NYS DOH advises that infants, children under the age of 15 and women under age 50 should not eat any fish from these waterbodies.
   • The information in this booklet will help you find where these waterbodies are located in New York State and the specific advice for what should or should not be eaten. In some cases, enough information is available to issue advisories based on the length of the fish. Older (larger) fish are often more contaminated than younger (smaller) fish.
   • There is also specific advice for certain regions. For example, some fish from the Adirondack and Catskill Mountain regions have been shown to have higher levels of mercury in their flesh than similar fish from other regions in the state.

- See more at: http://rocklandcce.org/fish-advisory#sthash.h9xlovAX.dpuf

Last updated June 16, 2022