Fish Consumption Advisories

Name: eRegulations
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Fishing is an important activity in Delaware’s inland and coastal waters. Among the benefits provided by fishing are quality recreational opportunities, direct and indirect input to the local economy, food for recreational anglers, and food for the commercial marketplace. Fish are a good source of readily digestible protein. They are low in fat and sodium, and the unique types of fats found in fish are believed to provide cardiovascular benefits.

Despite the general benefits of fishing and fish consumption, there are also health risks associated with consuming some locally caught fish. Certain toxic chemicals such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and mercury persist in the environment and accumulate in fish. When you eat the fish, you also ingest these chemicals. In cases where the health risk is elevated to recreational anglers and their families, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC), in cooperation with the Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Public Health (DPH), issue fish consumption advisories to inform the public of the situation. The most recent fish consumption advisories for Delaware waters are shown on the accompanying table. These advisories are intended to protect public health and hence are conservative.

Although the list of waters and fish species under advisory is extensive, monitoring shows that contaminant concentrations in the fish are slowly improving over time in many cases. This is the result of steady progress in cleaning up the sources of the contamination along with natural processes. DNREC and DPH will continue to monitor contaminant levels in fish over time and issue new or revised fish consumption advisories as appropriate.

For more information concerning health advisories for Delaware waters, go on-line or contact the Division of Public Health at (302) 744-4546. For more information on balancing health risks and health benefits of consuming seafood, visit http://seafoodhealthfacts.org.

Cutting the Fat

Toxic chemicals tend to concentrate in the fatty tissue found in the:

1) dorsal area.

2) lateral line.

3) belly flaps.

When cleaning fish, always skin it and trim away fatty areas shown by the dotted line.

Waterbody	Species	Contaminant of Concern	Geographical Extent	Meals/yr (8-ounce serving)
All Waters not listed below	All Species not listed below	All	All Areas not listed	52
Delaware River	All Finfish	A, B, E	DE/PA Line to the C&D Canal	3*
Lower Delaware River and Delaware Bay	Striped Bass, Channel Catfish, White Catfish, American Eel	A	Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay	3*
	White Perch	A	Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay	6
	Bluefish 20 inches or less	A	Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay	12
	Bluefish - greater than 20 inches	A, C	Chesapeake & Delaware Canal to the Mouth of the Delaware Bay	3*
Delaware Atlantic Coastal Waters including Delaware Inland Bays	Striped Bass	A	Coastal Delaware from Mouth of the Delaware Bay Southward to DE/MD Line	3*
	Bluefish 20 inches or less	A	Coastal Delaware from Mouth of the Delaware Bay Southward to DE/MD Line	12
	Bluefish - greater than 20 inches	A, C	Coastal Delaware from Mouth of the Delaware Bay Southward to DE/MD Line	3*
Shellpot Creek	All Finfish	A, E, G	Governor Printz Blvd. to Delaware River	1
Shellpot Creek	All Finfish	A, E, G, H	Upstream of Governor Printz Blvd.	2
Tidal Brandywine River	All Finfish	A, B, E	River Mouth to Baynard Blvd.	2
Non-tidal Brandywine River	All Finfish	A, B, E	Baynard Blvd. to DE/PA Line	6
Tidal Christina River	All Finfish	A	I-95 at Peterson Wildlife Refuge upstream to Smalleys Dam (includes Nonesuch Creek)	12
Tidal Christina River	All Finfish	A, B, E, F, G	Mouth upstream to I-95 at Peterson Wildlife Refuge	1
Non-tidal Christina River	All Finfish	E	Smalley’s Dam to DE/MD Line	12
Tidal White Clay Creek	All Finfish	A, E, F, G	River Mouth to Route 4	1
Non-tidal White Clay Creek	All Finfish	A, E	Route 4 to DE/PA Line	12
Red Clay Creek	All Finfish	A, B, E, F	Creek Mouth to DE/PA Line	3
Little Mill Creek	All Finfish	A, E, G, H	Creek Mouth to Kirkwood Highway	1
Army Creek and Pond	All Finfish	A, B	Creek Mouth to Route 13, including Army Pond	4
Red Lion Creek	All Finfish	A, B	Route 1 to the Delaware River	2
Red Lion Creek	All Finfish	A, E	Upstream of Route 1	12
Chesapeake & Delaware Canal	All Finfish	A, B E	Entire Canal in Delaware	1
Appoquinimink River	All Finfish	A, B, E	Tidal Portions	2
Drawyers Creek	All Finfish	A, B, E	Tidal Portions	4
Silver Lake Middletown	All Finfish	E	Entire Lake	12
Saint Jones River and Silver Lake Dover	All Finfish	A, B, E	Tidal River and Entire Pond	4
Fork Branch	All Finfish	C	McKee Road to College Road	24
Moores Lake	All Finfish	A	Entire Pond	12
Wyoming Mill Pond	All Finfish	F	Entire Pond	24
Slaughter Creek	All Finfish	A, B	Entire Creek	12
Christina Creek	Stocked Trout	A, E	Rittenhouse Park to DE/MD Line	6
Designated Trout Streams & Ponds other than Christina Creek	Stocked Trout	A	See latest Delaware Fishing Guide for Designated Trout Streams	12
* Women of childbearing age and children should not consume any amount of these fish. For more information on the specific contaminant(s) of concern for each waterbody listed, consult the Division’s website (www.fw.delaware.gov) or contact DNREC at (302) 739-9902, or the Division of Public Health at (302) 744-4546. Contaminants of concern: A) PCBs, B) Dioxins and furans, C) Mercury, D) Chlorinated pesticides, E) Dieldrin, F) DDT, DDD and DDE , G) Chlordane, H) Heptachlor epoxide