Suggestions based on levels of mercury

Contributed Report

The California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) has issued a fish consumption advisory for Crowley Lake, located approximately 25 miles northwest of Bishop in Mono County.

The advisory provides safe-eating advice for Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, and Sacramento Perch.

OEHHA’s Good Catch California program routinely develops fish advisories so Californians can make healthy choices about the fish they catch in waterbodies across the state.

“Many fish have nutrients that may reduce the risk of heart disease, and fish are excellent sources of protein,” said OEHHA Director Dr. Lauren Zeise. “OEHHA’s guidelines help people eating fish caught in Crowley Lake to make healthy, informed decisions.”

OEHHA developed the recommendations based on the levels of mercury found in fish caught from the lake. Because mercury affects brain development, particularly in developing children and fetuses, OEHHA provides advice tailored to two groups based on sex and age.

For Crowley Lake, OEHHA provides the following safe-eating advice:

- Women (18–49 years) and children (1–17 years) may eat the following on a weekly basis:

One total serving of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout or Sacramento Perch.

- Women (50 years and older) and men (18 years and older) may eat the following on a weekly basis:

Two total servings of Lahontan Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout or Sacramento Perch.

One serving for adults is an eight-ounce fish fillet, measured prior to cooking, which is roughly the size and thickness of your hand. For small fish species, several individual fish may make up a single eight-ounce serving.

Children should eat servings less than eight ounces. Eating fish in amounts slightly greater than the advisory’s recommendations is not likely to cause health problems if it is done only occasionally, such as eating fish caught during an annual vacation.

A poster with safe-eating advice for Crowley Lake is available on OEHHA’s website in both English and Spanish. For fish species found in Crowley Lake that are not included in this advisory, OEHHA recommends following its statewide advisory for eating fish from California lakes and reservoirs without site-specific advice.

Mercury is released into the environment from mining and burning coal. It accumulates in fish in the form of methylmercury, and can damage the human brain and nervous system, especially in developing children and fetuses.

Because of this, OEHHA provides a separate set of recommendations specifically for children up to age 17 and women of childbearing age (18–49 years).

OEHHA’s fish advisory recommendations are based on the levels of contaminants, such as mercury, that persist in the environment and accumulate in fish.

They are independent of any shorter-term advisories to limit fish intake due to freshwater or estuarine harmful algal blooms (HABs), which can produce toxins that are harmful to humans. Before fishing, check the California HABs Portal to see if there are HAB advisories and always practice healthy water habits.

The Crowley Lake advisory joins more than 140 other OEHHA advisories that provide site-specific, healthbased fish consumption advice for many of the places where people catch and eat fish in California, including lakes, rivers, bays, reservoirs and the California coast.

Advisories are available on OEHHA’s Fish Advisories webpage at oehha.ca.gov.