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Advisories & Consumption Guidelines

Fishing Regulations Icon Oregon Fishing

Mercury and PCBs accumulate in our bodies over time and are passed on to developing fetuses through the placenta. Children’s brains go through extraordinary development in the womb and during the first six years of life. Mercury and PCBs can interfere with normal brain development and cause lifelong learning disabilities. PCBs can also cause cancer in children and adults. Visit healthoregon.org/fishadv to learn more, including fish and shellfish cleaning guidelines that reduce your exposure to PCBs and other fat-soluble contaminants.

Fish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Zone

Waterbody

Contaminant

Affected Fish Species

Meals Per Month

Vulnerable Population*

Everyone Else
Columbia Bonneville Dam at Bradford Island (extending one mile upstream to Ruckel Creek) PCBs All resident fish
(including sturgeon)

0

0
Mid-Columbia River (from Ruckel Creek to McNary Dam) Mercury All resident fish
(including sturgeon)

4

4
Southwest Applegate Lake Mercury Large and smallmouth bass, yellow perch

2

5
Panfish (bluegill and crappie)

4

13
Cooper Creek Reservoir Mercury All resident fish

1

4
Emigrant Reservoir Mercury All resident fish except rainbow trout

1

3
Galesville Reservoir Mercury All resident fish

1

4
Plat I Reservoir Mercury All resident fish

2

6
Central East Lake Mercury All resident fish

1

3
Brown trout (16 inches or longer)

0

1
Southeast Antelope Reservoir Mercury All resident fish

0

1
Jordan Creek (from Antelope Reservoir to the creek’s confluence with the Owyhee River) Mercury All resident fish

0

1
Owyhee Reservoir Mercury All resident fish

1

3
Owyhee River (upstream to Three Forks) Mercury All resident fish

2

6
Phillips Reservoir Mercury Yellow perch

2

5
Willamette Columbia Slough PCBs, dioxins and/or certain pesticides All resident fish

2

2
Cottage Grove Reservoir Mercury All resident fish except stocked, hatchery rainbow trout (12 inches or less)

0

1
Dorena Reservoir

1

4
Lower Willamette River from Sellwood Bridge to confluence with Columbia River; includes Multnomah Channel to the Sauvie Island Bridge PCBs Refer to the advisory table on the Oregon Health Authority website here: http://www.healthoregon.org/fishadv
Willamette River mainstem (from Sellwood Bridge southward to Eugene)

Includes: Coast Fork to Cottage Grove Reservoir

Does not apply to: Middle Fork, North Fork of the Middle Fork, or to any other tributary emptying into the Willamette

 Mercury All resident fish

1

4
Snake River Snake River (from just south of Adrien, OR north to the WA border. Includes: Brownlee Reservoir and Powder River arm) Mercury All resident fish

3

8
Statewide All Waters Mercury Bass

2

6

* Vulnerable population includes children under age 6, women of childbearing age and people with thyroid or immune system problems.

“Resident” fish spend their entire lives within a certain territory, and do not migrate. “Migratory” fish such as salmon, steelhead, shad and lamprey, spend most of their lives at sea, and contain less localized contaminants. In general, smaller, younger fish have fewer contaminants.

Recreational ShellFish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines

Zone

Affected Species

Contaminant

Location

Meals Per Month
Oregon Coast Softshell clams (Mya arenaria)

Gaper clams (Tresus capax)

Inorganic Arsenic

 North Coast (Mouth of Columbia to Neskowin) Siphon skin intact: 1
Siphon skin removed: 11
Central Coast (Cascade Head to mouth of Umpqua River) Siphon skin intact: 2
Siphon skin removed: 26
South Coast (Mouth of Umpqua River to California Border) Siphon skin intact: 4
Siphon skin removed: 33

Softshell and Gaper Clams

Meal sizes for different age groups

Age Group

Meal size by clam weight

(excluding shells)

Meal size by clam volume

(excluding shells)
Adult (17 years and older)

8 ounces

1 cup
12-16 years old

6 ounces

3/4 cup
7-11 years old

4 ounces

1/2 cup
4-6 years old

3 ounces

1/3 cup
2-3 years old

2 ounces

1/4 cup

Advisories and Consumption Guidelines-End