Fish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines
Select a region on the map or check the
table below for Oregon fish advisories and consumption guidelines.
NOTE: There is a
statewide advisory for bass.
|
MEALS PER MONTH |
Zone |
Waterbody |
Contaminant |
Affected fish species |
Vulnerable population |
Everyone else |
STATEWIDE |
All state water bodies |
| Bass | 2
| 6
|
MULTIPLE | Columbia River and its Oregon tributaries (for example, Willamette, Hood, John Day) |
| Lamprey | 2
| 4
|
COLUMBIA |
Bonneville Dam at Bradford Island, extending one mile upstream to Ruckel Creek |
| All resident fish (Including Sturgeon) | 0 | 0 |
Mid-Columbia River, from Ruckel Creek to McNary Dam |
| All resident fish (Including Sturgeon) | 4 | 4
|
Lower Columbia River
|
| Sturgeon
| 4 | 6
|
SOUTHWEST | Applegate Lake |
| Large and smallmouth bass and yellow perch | 2 | 5 |
Panfish (bluegill and crappie) | 4 | 13 |
Cooper Creek Reservoir |
| All resident fish | 1 | 4 |
Emigrant Reservoir |
| All resident fish except rainbow trout | 1 | 3 |
Galesville Reservoir |
| All resident fish | 1 | 4 |
Plat I Reservoir |
| All resident fish | 2 | 6 |
CENTRAL | East Lake |
| All resident fish | 1 | 3 |
Brown trout (16 inches or longer) | 0 | 1 |
SOUTHEAST | Antelope Reservoir |
| All resident fish | 0 | 1 |
Jordan Creek, from Antelope Reservoir to the creek's confluence with the Owyhee River
|
| All resident fish | 0 | 1 |
Owyhee Reservoir |
| All resident fish | 1 | 3 |
Owyhee River upstream to Three Forks |
| All resident fish | 2 | 6 |
Phillips Reservoir |
| Yellow perch | 2 | 5 |
WILLAMETTE |
Columbia Slough |
| All resident fish including crayfish | Fillet only - 1 Whole body - 0
|
Largescale sucker | Fillet only - 2 Whole body - 0
|
Cottage Grove Reservoirs |
| All resident fish except stocked, fin-clipped rainbow trout (12 inches or less) | 0 | 1 |
Dorena Reservoirs | 1 | 4 |
Lower Willamette River,
from the Sellwood Bridge to its confluence with the Columbia, to include Multnomah Channel from its confluence with the Willamette to the Sauvie Island Bridge. |
| All resident fish |
Meal recommendations and information
|
Lower Willamette River
|
| Sturgeon
| 1
| 1
|
Willamette River, from its mouth on the Columbia River southward to Eugene
-
Includes: Coast Fork to Cottage Grove Reservoir
-
Does not apply to: Middle Fork, North Fork of the Middle Fork, or to any other tributary emptying into the Willamette
|
| All resident fish
| 1
| 4
|
Multnomah Channel and Scappoose Bay
|
|
All resident fish
|
Meal recommendations and information
|
SNAKE RIVER | Snake River, from just south of Adrien, OR north to the WA border -
Includes: Brownlee Reservoir and the Powder River arm
|
| All resident fish | 3
| 8 |
Vulnerable population includes children under age 6, people who are or may become pregnant and people who are nursing.
= Mercury = PCBs, dioxins and/or certain pesticides
“Resident” fish spend their entire lives within a certain territory, and do not migrate.
“Migratory” fish such as salmon, steelhead, shad and lamprey, spend most of their lives at sea, and contain less localized contaminants. In general, smaller, younger fish have fewer contaminants.
|
Fish cleaning and cooking guidelines
Follow this guidelines to reduce your exposure to PCBs and other fat-soluble contaminants.
Fish Cleaning and Cooking Guidelines
What is a meal?
A meal is about the size and thickness of your hand, or 1 ounce of uncooked fish for every 20 pounds of body weight.
- 160 pound adult = 8 oz.
- 80 pound child = 4 oz.
EPA flyer: Helpful advice about eating fish for those who might become or are pregnant or breastfeeding and children ages 1 – 11 years.
Contaminants and their health effects
Mercury and PCBs accumulate in our bodies over time and are passed on to developing fetuses through the placenta. Children’s brains go through extraordinary development in the womb and during the first six years of life. Mercury and PCBs can interfere with normal brain development and cause lifelong learning disabilities. PCBs can also cause cancer in children and adults.
Recreational Shellfish Advisories and Consumption Guidelines
Shellfish Safety Closures (ODA)
Advisory: Softshell and Gaper Clams on Oregon Coast
OHA has issued an advisory for recreationally harvested softshell and gaper clams along the Oregon coast due to arsenic contamination. See the table below for details and resources.
|
MEALS PER MONTH | |
Zone |
Affected species |
Contaminant |
Location | |
Resources |
OREGON COAST | Softshell clams (Mya arenaria) Gaper clams
(Tresus capax) | Inorganic Arsenic | North Coast (Mouth of Columbia to Neskowin) | Siphon skin intact - 1 Siphon skin removed - 11 | |
Central Coast (Cascade Head to mouth of Umpqua River) | Siphon skin intact - 2 Siphon skin removed - 26 |
South Coast (Mouth of Umpqua River to California Border) | Siphon skin intact - 4 Siphon skin removed - 33 |
Softshell and Gaper clams: Meal sizes for different age groups |
---|
Age group |
Meal size by clam weight (excluding shells) |
Meal size by clam volume (excluding shells) |
Adult (17 years and older) | 8 ounces | 1 cup |
12-16 years old | 6 ounces | 3/4 cup |
7-11 years old | 4 ounces | 1/2 cup |
4-6 years old | 3 ounces | 1/3 cup |
2-3 years old | 2 ounces | 1/4 cup |