Many folks enjoy fishing in North Carolina's waters. They also enjoy eating their catch, and fish is a healthy, low-fat source of protein. The N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) routinely monitors water quality and fish tissue for potential problems. The vast majority of North Carolina's waters don't have problems, and most fish from them are safe to eat and enjoy. North Carolina encourages people to eat a wide variety of fish because of the health benefits to the heart and to children’s developing brains and nervous systems.

However, just as in the rest of the nation, certain fish in and around North Carolina contain high levels of contaminants that may pose a risk to human health. The N.C. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) issues fish consumption advisories for those fish, telling people to either limit consumption or avoid eating those kinds of fish. Unborn children and young children are often more susceptible to developing problems as a result of contact with contaminants; that’s why advisories are often more stringent for women of childbearing age and children.

You can get information about the location and cause of current fish consumption advisories and other information about fish consumption advisories from the following websites.

N.C. Advisories

• Current Fish Consumption Advisories In North Carolina
• Contaminants

Mercury

• Mercury in fish: What fish are safe to eat? [English / pdf] [Spanish / pdf]
• Questions and Answers about Mercury and Fish
• Technical Health Effects of Methylmercury and North Carolina's Advice on Eating Fish (pdf - 221kb)

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)

• Crabtree Creek Fish Advisory Fact Sheet [English] [Spanish] (pdf)
• Lake Crabtree Brier Creek Fish Advisory Fact Sheet [English] [Spanish] (pdf)

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