Fish Consumption Advisory

Name: eRegulations
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Are The Fish I Catch Safe To Eat? 877-458-Fish

The summary of advisories issued in the past by the Connecticut Department of Public Health and Department of Energy & Environmental Protection is updated annually and included as a reminder to anglers. These advisories apply to recreationally-caught fish from Connecticut waters. Individuals in the high risk group should be particularly careful in their fish consumption. Proper cleaning and cooking methods include: removing the skin, “lateral line” area, belly flaps and dark meat, and broiling or grilling. These methods can reduce PCB levels by 50%.

For More Information

Including the fish consumption fact sheet, a special fact sheet for pregnant women, foreign language summaries, and for updates visit the Department of Public Health (CTDPH) website at: https://portal.ct.gov/fish or call CTDPH.

Have health questions: call CTDPH at 860-509-7740 or toll-free at 877-458-FISH (3474).
Have fishing questions: call CTDEEP at 860-424-FISH (3474).

Advisory	Waterbody	Fish Species	High Risk Group^a	Low Risk Group^b	Contaminant
Statewide Freshwater Fish	All Fresh Waterbodies (See more restrictive advice for specific waterbodies listed below)	Trout^c, Sunfish	No Limits on Consumption	No Limits on Consumption	—
Statewide Freshwater Fish		All other fish	One meal per month	One meal per week	Mercury
Specific Freshwater Fish	Dodge Pond, Wyassup Lake, Lake McDonough, Silver Lake (Berlin)	Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Pickerel	Do not eat	One meal per month	Mercury
	Housatonic River above Lake Lillinonah	Trout, Catfish, Eels, Carp, Northern Pike	Do not eat	Do not eat	PCBs
		Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Perch	Do not eat	One meal per 2 months	PCBs
		Bluegill, Bullheads, Fallfish	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
		Panfish^d except for White Perch, Bluegill and Bullheads	One meal per month	One meal per week	PCBs
	Lakes on Housatonic River: (Lillinonah, Zoar, Housatonic)	Trout, Catfish, Eels, Carp, Northern Pike	Do not eat	Do not eat	PCBs
		Smallmouth Bass, Largemouth Bass	Do not eat	One meal per 2 months	PCBs
		White Perch, Fallfish, Bullheads	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
		Panfish^d except for White Perch and Bullheads	One meal per month	One meal per week	PCBs
	Quinnipiac River (Gorge to Hanover Pond in Meriden)	All species	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
	Connecticut River	Carp	Do not eat	One meal per 2 months	PCBs
	Connecticut River	Catfish	Do not eat	One meal per month	PCBs
	Versailles, Papermill Ponds & connecting section of Little River (Sprague)	All species	Do not eat	Do not eat	Mercury, PCBs
	Furnace Brook (Cornwall)	Trout	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
	Blackberry River downstream of “Blast Furnace” (North Canaan)	Smallmouth Bass	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
	Konkapot River (North Canaan)	White Sucker	Do not eat	One meal per month	Mercury
	Brewster Pond (Stratford)	Catfish & Bullheads	Do not eat	Do not eat	Chlordane
	Union Pond (Manchester)	Carp, Catfish, Bass	Do not eat	Do not eat	Chlordane
	Natchaug, Willimantic & Shetucket Rivers (Willimantic & Mansfield) ^f	Bass	One meal per month	One meal per month	PFAs
Specific Saltwater Species	Long Island Sound and connected rivers	Striped Bass over 25"	Do not eat	One meal per month	PCBs
		Bluefish over 25"	Do not eat	One meal per month	PCBs
		Bluefish 13–25"^e	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
		Weakfish	One meal per month	One meal per month	PCBs
	Mill River (Fairfield) (excluding Southport Harbor)	Blue Crab	Do not eat	Do not eat	Lead
a High Risk Group includes pregnant women, women planning pregnancy within one year, nursing women and children under age 6. b Low Risk Group includes everyone not in the High Risk Group. c Most trout are not part of the advisory and are safe to eat. However, the High Risk Group should eat no more than one large trout (over 15") per month and should not eat trout from the Housatonic River. d Panfish include Yellow Perch, White Perch, Calico Bass (Crappie), Rock Bass, bullhead, and sunfish. e Bluefish (including snapper blues) under 13" are not on the advisory because they have very low contamination. f Natchaug River from Willimantic Reservoir dam (northern boundary) downstream to the Shetucket River, then 1/2 mile down the Shetucket River to Plains Road. Willimantic River from dam at Pine Street to the Shetucket and Natchaug Rivers.