Educational Resources

• Fish cleaning diagram (jpg)

• A Guide to Eating Fish and Shellfish in Oregon (pdf) (1.8 Mb) 

• Una Guía Para Comer Pescado y Marisco en Oregon (pdf) (1.6 Mb)

Antelope Reservoir and Jordan Creek

(SE Oregon, Malheur County)

• Women ages 18-45, children under 6, pregnant and/or nursing women, and people with liver and kidney problems should avoid eating fish from these waters.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal per month of fish caught in these waters.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• All persons should limit consumption of smallmouth bass to one meal per month. A serving, or "meal", is about the size and thickness of your hand, or 1 ounce for every 20 pounds of body weight.
  • For a 160 pound adult, one meal = 8 ounces
  • For a 30lb child, one meal = 2 ounces
• Removing and throwing away the skin, fat, eggs and internal organs will reduce exposure to PCBs in fish. See fish cleaning diagram.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about PCBs in Fish, and Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

(Lower) Columbia

River
(Columbia River Zone)

• All persons, especially women who are pregnant, nursing or between the ages of 18-45, should avoid eating the fatty parts of fish caught in the Lower Columbia River.
• Removing and throwing away the skin, fat, eggs, and internal organs will reduce exposure to PCBs in fish. See fish cleaning diagram.
• Learn more about PCBs in Fish.

(Lower) Columbia Slough
(Willamette Zone, Multnomah County)

• Pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, and women ages 18-45 should avoid or limit consumption of carp and black crappie.
• All persons should avoid eating fatty parts of fish caught in these waters.
• Removing and throwing away the skin, fat, eggs and internal organs will reduce exposure to PCBs in fish. See fish cleaning diagram.
• Learn more about PCBs in Fish.

Cooper Creek Reservoir
(Willamette Zone, East of Sutherlin, Douglas County)

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Women ages 18-45, children under 6, and people with liver and kidney problems should avoid eating fish from these waters.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal per month.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

High mercury levels 

• Do not eat brown trout 16" or larger, and follow the guidelines below for other fish caught in these waters:
• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women aged 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Women of childbearing age, children under 6, and people with liver and kidney problems should avoid eating fish from these waters.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal per month.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

High mercury levels 

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Women ages 18-45, children under 6, and people with liver and kidney problems should avoid eating fish from these waters.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal per month.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal per month.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal per week.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

• Women ages 18-45, particularly pregnant or breastfeeding women, children under 6, and people with weak immune systems, thyroid or liver problems, should avoid eating resident fish from Portland Harbor, especially carp, bass and catfish. "Resident" fish are those that spend their entire lives within a certain territory, and do not migrate. Non-resident, migratory fish such as Salmon, Steelhead, and Lamprey are not included in this advisory.

• *Please note that the sturgeon sampled from Portland Harbor were fairly small (about 40 inches long). Larger and older sturgeon would be expected to have higher levels of PCBs and should be restricted like carp, bass and catfish. 

• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should restrict the amount of resident fish eaten from Portland Harbor to no more than one meal per month.
• All persons should reduce or avoid eating fatty parts of fish.
• Removing and throwing away the skin, fat, eggs, and internal organs will reduce exposure to PCBs in fish. See fish cleaning diagram.
• Learn more about PCBs in Fish.

• Crayfish taken within 1000 feet of the property lines of the former McCormick & Baxter site located south of the Burlington Northern Railroad Bridge in Portland Harbor should not be eaten.

• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every month.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one 8-ounce meal every week.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• Learn more about Sport-fishing & methylmercury.

Willamette River 

("Mainstem" - the Coastal Fork  to Cottage Grove Reservoir)

High mercury levels & PCB levels

• All Resident fish in the mainstem of the Willamette River should be eaten in moderate amounts.  "Resident" fish are those that spend their entire lives within a certain territory, and do not migrate. This advisory does not include  migratory fish such as Salmon, Steelhead, and Lamprey. 
• Children under 6 should eat no more than one meal every two months.
• Women ages 18-45 should eat no more than one meal per month.
• Healthy women beyond childbearing age (18-45 years) and healthy adult males should eat no more than one meal every two weeks.
• All persons should reduce or avoid eating fatty parts of fish.
• Removing and throwing away the skin, fat, eggs, and internal organs can reduce exposure to PCBs in fish. See fish cleaning diagram.
• Mercury cannot be removed through cleaning or cooking methods.
• PCBs in Fish.
• Sport-fishing & methylmercury.